


The Single Parent and Teacher AU

by mustangisinflames



Category: One Piece
Genre: Shenanigans, domestic AU, family au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-18 08:41:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 26,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5915827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mustangisinflames/pseuds/mustangisinflames
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another series of prompts popular on my Tumblr (@mustangisinflames) in which Zoro is Chopper's dad and Sanji is Chopper's teacher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Honestly, Mr. Roronoa, I'm not sure why Tony is insisting on behaving like this- it's very unlike him." The blond haired teacher, Mr. Black, said to Zoro who was sitting across the other side of the desk.

The child in question, Tony, was sat on the chair beside his green haired father looking at the floor and swinging his legs that didn't even reach the ground from where he was sitting. He peeked over his teacher's desk every so often but said nothing.

"Yeah, I've no idea why either," Zoro said, perhaps a little too forced. He knew damn well why his son was acting like this.

Tony had decided a few weeks ago that he rather liked Mr. Black and took it upon himself to create a mission to 'get daddy and Mr. Black to like each other'. It was frankly embarrassing not only because his child was playing up to get these parent teacher meetings, but also because Zoro did quite like Mr. Black too. He was all suave and charm and his legs seemed to go on forever and a day. And although the teacher was good looking, he was also insanely good with kids. All in all, he was everything Zoro was looking for but he hadn't much time to date with being a single father with a full time job, and had none of the confidence to ask such an impossibly perfect man out. Mr. Black was miles, light years out of his league, and besides he was anxious that the guy was possibly straight and he didn't want to seem a fool and mortify himself by asking.

Tony fidgeted in his seat and sighed, and Mr. Black leaned forward on the desk and smiled softly at Tony in a way that made Zoro's stomach go funny, "Tony, what's wrong? Why are you misbehaving in class?"

Tony huffed and crossed his arms and despite the look Zoro gave him, the small child blurted out without a care in the world for what he was saying or how much Zoro wanted to shrink into a ball with each word, "My daddy likes you and I think you should go on a date-"

Mr. Black's eyes widened considerably and Zoro tried to stop his son from going any further but to no avail.

"But daddy says you won't because you 'don't swing that way'- whatever that means-"

"Tony-" Zoro tried.

"But I think you should but daddy said no so I've been bad so that daddy has to come to school and see you! And it's still not worked!" Chopper finished, crossing his arms stroppily, and Zoro felt like he was going to have a heart attack and die.

The heat in his face was like fire as Mr. Black's gaze turned to him, stunned, and Zoro forced a laugh, "Haha…" He stood up quickly and beckoned a stubborn Tony to do the same, "Come on, Tony, we're going home now."

"But-"

"No. Home. Now. No arguments."

Tony got up stroppily and stomped his way to the door, Zoro hot on his heels.

"Wait, Mr. Roronoa..!" Mr. Black started but Zoro shooed Tony out and fled the classroom, never having been more embarrassed in his life.

He scooped his son up into his arms and hurried faster down the corridor, ignoring Mr. Black's voice trailing up after him,

"Oh my God, Tony, stop waving at him."


	2. Doctor Chopper

Zoro was sat on the sofa with his legs kicked up on the coffee table, completely exhausted after a full day's work followed by picking Tony up from his after school club and then having to make dinner as soon as he'd got home. He'd got considerably better at cooking since Tony had come along and now he was able to make decent meals for the two of them. He was no 5 star gourmet chef but it was good.

Tony was sat on the floor in front of the TV which was playing a rerun of Adventure Time to itself as the little boy was surrounded by his toys and a toilet roll which he was using as bandages for his 'patients'. Zoro smiled at him, "You alright there, Tony?"

"Mhmm. Dad, will you paint my nose for me?" Tony asked, looking up at him with big brown eyes.

"Sure thing, go find your face paint then."

Tony made an excited noise and bounded over to his toy box, pulling out a toy first aid box, a white button up shirt that used to be Zoro's, a pair of antlers on a headband from an old Christmas costume, and his face painting kit. He bundled them up and staggered over with them, Zoro taking some of the load off and putting it on the coffee table.

"Come on then," Zoro said after fetching a cup of water and Tony's juice cup from the kitchen, he picked up the paintbrush and wetted it, "Let me see."

Tony bubbled a laugh and stuck his face forward to his dad, giggling when the paintbrush, lathered with blue paint, tickled his nose. After a moment, Zoro pulled back, "There you go."

"Thanks dad!" Tony chirped and began putting on his antlers and then his white shirt which Zoro help roll the sleeves up on.

"Oh no!" Zoro said, feigning surprise, "Where's Tony gone?" He pointed to his dressed up son, "Have you seen Tony?"

Tony laughed before putting on a cute 'serious face', "No, I am Doctor Chopper!"

"Doctor Chopper?" Zoro repeated and gasped, "The famous super awesome doctor?"

"I have patients to see!" Tony said and strode over to his toys with his first aid kit in tow but not before taking off his antlers and turning round with a cheeky grin, "It's me really dad!"

Zoro pretended to be shocked, "You get me every time," He said and Tony laughed as he set to work on his toys.

Doctor Chopper was who Tony pretended to be whenever he was playing doctors. Chopper was a clever reindeer who was a doctor who was one of the best in the world! Zoro had asked why Chopper was a reindeer and Tony said that it was because reindeers are his favourite animal; Zoro was proud to have such an imaginative son.

He got up off the floor and took the paints and water into the kitchen and put them on the side when the flap of the letter box rattled. He looked at the clock and remembered that it was about the right time, they always got late post around this side of town and went to the front door, picking it up off the mat.

It was all basic mail; bills, invoice for the rent, and the bank saying Zoro's paycheck had been paid in. But one letter with Tony's school name on caught his eye and he frowned, they rarely ever got post from the school. He turned the brown envelope over and opened it, beginning to read.

'Mr Roronoa

I am delighted to tell you how well your son has been doing in lessons recently. It is because of this that I would like to discuss a course for your son to be a part of. We believe that Tony is a gifted student and we would like to offer an opportunity for that gift to develop.

Please find below a slip to return to school with your child arranging the date for a home visit in which the details and any questions you may have will be discussed.

Many thanks,

S. Black (Teacher of Sunny Class)'

Zoro stared blankly at the words until the sudden onslaught of the memories from a few days ago attacked his mind in the form of an incredibly large inward cringe. Oh God. Mr. Black, in his home? This wasn't going to end well, was it? He was going to have to tell Tony what not to say because he couldn't handle another embarrassing situation like that.

"Dad?" Tony said, popping around his side with his big eyes and blue nose "Are you okay? You look sick… Do you need Doctor Chopper to fix you?"


	3. Dream

Undanewneon asked: oh shoot! That parent/teacher Zoro fic is good! Zoro must be pretty obsessed with trying to make it go smoothly. But, you know, when something's on your mind like that it creeps into your dreams… hmm… wonder what Zoro might dream about with that home visit eh? ^_-

 

After having tucked Tony in for the night, locking up, and finally watching last week's Game of Thrones that he'd missed, Zoro settled down in his double bed with a mug now drained of chamomile tea on the bedside cabinet and the letter from the school in his duvet covered lap. Now he had time to think and he wasn't sure if that was entirely a good thing because now his mind was filled with one thing and one thing only: Mr. Black was coming to his house.

He took his thick framed black reading glasses off to rub at his eyes. The whole thing with Mr. Black had originally started off as just finding him aesthetically pleasing. Sure, Zoro was gay and single but it didn't mean he was going to throw himself at the feet of every good looking guy who walked past. Besides he was busy with work and Tony and he didn't see how a relationship would work around all of that. But, over a few months, Zoro found himself tumbling slightly for the blond haired teacher, he wasn't head over heels for him as such but seeing the way Mr. Black was with the children he taught just did something to Zoro. Tony had only known about most of this from overhearing a conversation he was having with Nami about it. His son seemed quite enthusiastic about his dad liking his teacher which was sweet really and it had given Zoro a little shove in Mr. Black's direction- would it really be so bad to just try and have a relationship or get to know someone? Usually he'd have chided himself for thinking it but Tony was growing up and needed to see and be a part of a functioning relationship especially now it was three years after the divorce and Zoro himself wasn't getting any younger…

Damn it, maybe he should try it? He folded the letter over and sighed. Anyway, it wasn't like he had to pursue a relationship with Mr. Black, just another friend to be able to rely on would be just as good. He barely knew the guy anyway. What if the second the teacher opened his mouth Zoro hated his personality? What if Mr. Black didn't like him for who he was? Zoro's character was a little… strong at times. He was hot tempered when provoked, reserved, and most people just didn't get him for some reason and he didn't get other people all that much- that was one of the main reasons the marriage broke up, not the most important, but one of the main.

He leant back into the pillows and turned onto his side, leaving on the bedside lamp in case Tony came in again- the kid was going through a phase of wanting to sleep in his father's bed when he got scared by nightmares. There was a slight chill in the air that would soon be sorted by the heating he'd turned on but until then it left an ache across his deep set chest scar. He rubbed his palm over his shirt, following the line to soothe it with his body heat and it helped a little. He tried to think of something other than Mr. Black as he closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep to the movement and howls of a Direwolf in the back of his mind.

Hands were on him, touching him, caressing him, and at other times dragging their nails on his skin and leaving a pleasant burning in their wake. Zoro's back arched off the mattress with a deep moan and he couldn't remember the last time his senses felt so alive just by skin contact alone. One hand had crept up his shirt and fingertips dragged quickly over his hardening nipples and he gasped against the jolt that sent down his back and through his blood. He opened his eyes which he hadn't known had been closed to begin with, but all he saw was darkness yet he knew that these were hands touching him. Broad palms and long fingers. He couldn't place who they belonged to but, damn, they felt good.

The hand up his shirt slipped down, tracing over his pectorals, abdominals, and creeping up slowly again to map out the slight indents of his ribs before drawing down to his navel smoothly. Fingers rubbed in a strangely arousing manner there before dancing over his hip bones, sliding down inch by torturous inch and it had Zoro moaning all over again in anticipation.

It seemed impossibly slow, almost cruel, how the fabric of his boxers began to shuffle down and when they halted not halfway down to freeing his erection he almost growled in frustration. But that broke into a harsh cry of pleasure when a firm grip took him into a hand and he moaned loudly, shamelessly at the contact.

He bucked his hips up into the touch, losing himself until a voice cut through and threw him out, "My, my, Mr. Roronoa-"

Zoro bolted awake, the room a little disoriented and he was breathing heavily. He checked the mattress next to him and, thankfully, Tony wasn't there which meant the kid was still sleeping in his own room. He was even more grateful for that when he noticed the tight feeling between his legs, constricted by his boxers.

Jesus Christ, he'd just dreamt about his son's teacher in a completely, very much erotic way.

He sighed and ran his thumb over his boxers' front, hissing at the friction. Damn it. He looked at the time on his phone- an hour before Tony had to get ready for school. That was way more than enough time to sort out this problem. He got up and padded into the en suite across the room, he couldn't believe this; he hadn't had a wet dream since he was a teenager.

Putting the slip from the bottom of the letter, signed and dated, into Tony's school bag Zoro reminded his son once more that it was important for him to hand it in. He took the child by the hand and walked him down the path on the school drive and down to the gate of the play ground. Tony hugged his father and demanded a kiss which Zoro placed on his head of curly brown hair and bounded off to join a group of children who waved him over.

Zoro smiled and turned to leave when his eyes caught the sight of Mr. Black who was stood on play ground duty wearing a smart pair of dark grey trousers, black shoes, and a three quarter length black coat. He looked striking amongst the sea of children in their little vibrant coloured coats and bags but his smile made him far less intimidating, the expression on his face as warm as the mug of coffee in his hands. Zoro felt his face flush a little at the thought that this was the same man he'd embarrassingly dreamt about last night.

Suddenly Mr. Black's visible eye that wasn't hidden beneath a swoop of a fringe locked on his and his swirled eyebrow raised. Zoro suddenly had the most stupid thought that maybe the teacher knew what he'd dreamt about despite him knowing that the other man couldn't possibly know and he felt more heat rise on his face.

Mr. Black smiled and switched the mug to one hand to wave and Zoro just managed to wave back before the blond grabbed the whistle around his neck and blew sharply three times. And before Zoro knew it, Mr. Black had gone inside and all the children had left with him.


	4. Painting

Utukis asked: WAIT omg yes new parent teacher AU. What about Sanji? What does Sanji think about that one really attractive father of his student? Hmmm?

Anonymous asked: I'm in love with this parent/teacher fic. Can we get Sanji's perspective on things?

No one had said teaching would be easy but Sanji Black still enjoyed the job regardless. As horrible as it was to admit, he'd never seen himself as becoming a teacher. Rather he'd had his sights set on a culinary career, preferably as a head chef like his old man and owning a restaurant of his own. But high school had happened and events that last year led to lower than expected grades and he was forced to give up the dream and face the reality of two hard years in Sixth Form and then four years of a university English Literature degree combined with a teacher training course. He still kept a hold on that old dream no matter how much it hurt to think about it because it was too deep set and he was too nostalgic to let it go.

He was stood at the sink of the classroom, wiping a streak of green paint that a child had oh so kindly gave him from off his cheek and nose. Today the kids were painting which gave him a few hours rest with only the need to wander around every so often and check on them so he sat down at his desk with a sigh. Damn, he was exhausted; he'd been up almost all of last night with marking homework and making a start on student reports amongst other things and 1am thoughts. He grabbed his glasses and slipped them on to ease his headache that was caused by forgetting to put his contacts in that morning in his rush to get to work. He stared at the slip of paper on the desktop that his student, Tony, had handed to him and drummed his fingers.

Thursday it was then. That was two days away. Two days until he'd see Mr. Roronoa again.

Tony's father struck him as… well, he wasn't sure. The man seemed shut off from everyone else but his son, he'd scowl at everyone and everything until Tony came running up the playground path to him; then his lips would curve up and his brow would relax into a genuine smile as he scooped the kid up into a hug. He appeared to value family a lot and that made the teacher smile fondly, what a nice guy- Tony was a lucky kid.

Sanji had never met Mr. Roronoa's wife though and the blond had simply thought for a while that perhaps his wife worked late shifts or something, but since he'd noticed the lack of a wedding ring on the man's hand and the fact that Tony never spoke about her, Sanji was beginning to see a different picture. And of course that god awful awkward conversation at Tony's parent-teacher meeting had added to that.

He'd tried to call the man back; perhaps Tony had got the wrong impression from his father? That Mr. Roronoa meant he liked him as in the 'he's a good teacher' kind of way? But in replaying it over in his mind, over and over, he had realised that no one could have been that embarrassed if there wasn't an inkling of truth in it somewhere.

So, Mr. Roronoa liked him? Sanji wasn't sure what to think. He was flattered, sure; who wouldn't be? Sanji knew good looks when he saw them, even if he had bizarre green hair… But Sanji didn't like him that way back, did he? He barely knew the man and he was picky in his choice of men. He didn't mean to be, it was just that he preferred people who could take what he gave and throw it equally back at him. He wanted someone who could stand his hot temper, his snide, and his sarcasm.

He'd known he'd been bisexual for a while ever since that time with some guy at a friend's party back in high school but he'd never actually been in a relationship with a man simply because he'd never found one right for him. And he wasn't about to let good looks deceive him, oh no. Just because Mr. Roronoa was attractive didn't mean that his personality was on par. For all he knew, the man might be the most boring, easily offended, or snobbish guy ever.

Sanji rubbed his fingers under his glasses to get to his eyes with a stressed noise. Why was he even thinking of this? Hadn't he thought about the guy enough last night?

Okay, he just needed to calm down a little. That home visit two days from now would mean nothing. He wouldn't bring up anything; he was there to discuss the program and Tony and nothing else. He had to be professional about this- he was a teacher after all.

Adamant in his decision, Sanji got up to check on his class and clean up spillages of paint as he went along. But when he reached Tony's painting which pictured the child with his dad, Sanji lingered his gaze over it a little longer taking in the bright green hair and the broad smile on the man's face as he held his son's hand.

"Mr. Black?" Tony was looking up at him with a proud smile on his paint streaked face and holding a brush in his hand. When he realised he'd got his teacher's attention, he continued, "Look! It's me and daddy!"

Sanji smiled down at the child, "It's beautiful, Tony."

The little boy grinned and continued adding more to his father's odd hair whilst the teacher watched the painting of the green haired man take shape with a funny feeling in his chest.


	5. What do we do when the teacher visits?

Yesanymorebrightideasgenius asked: Oh my gosh your Zosan parent/teacher au is so cute! Oh! Prompt, prompt, oh I don't know, how about Zoro meticulously coaching Tony on what not to say and then Chopper pretty much says it all anyway by accident?

Stifling a yawn on the back of his hand, Zoro buckled Tony into his booster seat in the car as the little boy chattered on about what he'd been doing that day in no order whatsoever. It was Thursday, which meant that Mr. Black was coming over in under two hours and he still had dinner to make, a shower to have, and to run through telling Tony what he could and couldn't say whilst his teacher was there because he was not having another situation like that thrown on him again.

He got into the front of the car and drove home, Tony more than happy to be singing to himself in the backseat in half murmurings and half actual words, the notes jumping jarringly from flat to sharp. As soon as they pulled up on the drive Zoro shoved a pizza from the freezer straight into the oven along with some chips and set the timer on his phone to alert him. He left Tony, after helping his son take his shoes and coat off, in the living room with a box set of Regular Show on that he'd downloaded on the TV box.

"I'm in the shower, okay Tony?" He called as he stepped into the bathroom, shucking off his shirt and unbuttoning his jeans.

"Okay!" Tony called back.

Zoro turned on the shower head and stepped under the hot spray with a sigh, the water working wonders on his tensed muscles and washing away the stickiness of sweat clinging to his skin from his shift at the gym. He squirted some gel into his palm and scrubbed himself until all he could smell was the tingly, refreshing scent of mint and tea leaves and did the same with the shampoo.

Almost less than an hour and Mr. Black would be here… A rush of nervousness and excitement ran down his spine, this had been looming over him all week and finally it was here. He wondered what the teacher would be wearing tonight- he hoped it was one of his suits again… The thought of close hugging material was probably not the best thing to be thinking about right now and he put it to the back of his mind for another time. Suddenly the timer on his phone blipped and he got out of the spray, turning the shower off and quickly toweling himself down, covering himself with a pair of boxers and his dressing gown.

He padded out of the bathroom and down the stairs, his damp hair turning cold under the cooler air of the house as he headed for the kitchen, "Tony, dinner's ready!"

As his son shoveled a pizza slice into his mouth, Zoro asked again, "So what do you do when your teacher is here?"

"I behave and watch TV and don't talk about you and Mr. Black." Tony replied.

Zoro nodded, "You promise?"

"I promise," Tony said and started on another slice.

After another few slices of the pizza, Zoro went to his bedroom to get dressed, telling his son to call him if the door knocked. The green haired parent was half way through getting dressed when there was a knock and Tony cried, "Dad, the door!"

Zoro tried to pull his jeans up but struggled in his panic to get to the door. He called back, "I'll be a minute, Tony!"

There was another knock and Zoro got more frustrated at the fact that his damn jeans wouldn't pull up for whatever reason and now Mr. Black was stood outside probably wondering what the hell was going on that was making Zoro take so long. And if all that hadn't stressed out Zoro enough, Tony had seemed to take it upon himself to stand at the locked front door and yell through the wood at his teacher,

"MY DAD IS GETTING DRESSED."

Now, Zoro would have been completely okay with his son shouting that excuse if Tony had stopped talking there. But no. Instead, Tony giggled and continued,

"I THINK HIS JEANS ARE STUCK ON HIS BUTT AGAIN."

Zoro wanted to smack his own head off the bedroom wall as Tony laughed himself silly in the hallway.

"Tony, get away from the door right now!"


	6. The things children say...

Sanji stood at the front door to Mr. Roronoa's home; it was a nice house, a really nice house, and he wondered what the other man did for a job. Today he'd remembered to put in his contacts and, okay, maybe he'd tidied himself up a little for Tony's father but he couldn't help himself- he was curious. A strange sense of confidence had built up within him over the past couple of days, hence the effort in his appearance and the rocking forward and back on his heels on the doorstep. He was anxious to keep professional throughout the visit but he wouldn't mind if the guy ended up slipping him his number…

No. He shook his head slightly. Remain professional. He hefted the folder up a little more so he could hold it to his waistcoat covered chest with one arm, and with the other hand he rapped on the door. It took a moment but an answer came to him through a child's yelling rather than the door opening, "MY DAD IS GETTING DRESSED, I THINK HIS JEANS ARE STUCK ON HIS BUTT AGAIN."

Sanji stood there stunned for a moment whilst Tony's high pitched giggling echoed the other side of the door but it was cut off by a deeper voice.

"Tony, get away from the door right now!"

A few seconds later and the door swung open but Sanji rather wished it hadn't. The doorstep was set at a lower level so that when he looked up slightly he was met with an eyeful of part of Mr. Roronoa's chest. The teacher immediately felt the heat pooling up behind his ears and he was willing to bet anything that the tips of them had gone pink if not red, the same way they always did when he was flustered or staring unabashedly at a very well formed pair of pectorals. His eyes narrowed slightly at the thick white line he could glimpse as it cut through the left and across the sternum but Mr. Roronoa's hands were closing up the buttons of his shirt before he could make any sense of it and then it was gone.

Mr. Roronoa stood tall over him from the doorway and was looking down at him with dark brown eyes and Sanji knew he said he'd remain professional but his mind was going to one million filthy places a second because damn could he really appreciate the man this close up. Mr. Roronoa looked a little flustered but Sanji but that down to getting rushed to change and held out his hand to the man, "Mr. Roronoa."

The other took his hand and the blond teacher was greeted by a mix of soft and rough skin. There were calluses on the fingers and heel of his thumb and Sanji got the impression that Mr. Roronoa worked with his hands a lot, not at an office job at all- perhaps a labourer or something along those lines. The green haired man smiled slightly, "Hi, come in."

He stepped in as the other stepped back and around him to shut the door and Sanji saw that the house was just a lovely inside as it was outside. The floors were varnished a dark brown but covered in places with soft rugs that were either entirely white or black. In the kitchen were black tiles with white gloss cabinets and black graphite countertops, and in the corner a metallic silver fridge with many paintings from Tony- some he recognised and some he didn't. The place was amazing compared to his apartment…

"Uhm, make yourself at home. If Tony's left anything on the sofa, feel free to move it." Mr. Roronoa said and Sanji nodded dumbly, so overwhelmed by the man's home and the fact that he was finally here after days of mentally torturing himself over it. He let himself into the living room and perched on the seat of the black leather sofa, making sure he wasn't about to sit on any of Tony's toys. Speaking of Tony, the little boy was sat by the armchair the other side of the room slotting Lego bricks onto a vibrantly coloured house he was building and he waved when he noticed his teacher looking and smiled. Sanji waved back and said hello just as Mr. Roronoa walked in.

He stood by the side of the sofa and scratched the back of his head and Sanji saw the three studs in his left ear, "D'you want a drink? Tea? Coffee?"

It was easy to see the man was out of his comfort zone and the teacher couldn't help but wonder if the man played host to people often. From the looks of it he didn't.

"Tea, please." Sanji offered a warm smile to try and break the proverbial ice between them but Mr. Roronoa only dipped his head and avoided eye contact. Sanji would have felt a bit bruised at that reaction but when he caught the ever so slight tint on the bridge of the man's nose, it stroked his ego greatly. The other moved into the kitchen and began fumbling around with cups, a clattering of metal spoons rang out.

Sanji placed the folder down on his lap and opened it, taking out a booklet about the course he was offering and trying to ignore Tony's consistent staring at him from the corner. Having a pair of eyes on him like that was making him feel uncomfortable for some reason.

When Mr. Roronoa brought the drinks in and sat down, Sanji launched into showing the man the booklet and introducing the general topic. He told the parent that his son would receive an extra lesson after school some days a week and that he'd also have slightly different homework set at a level to suit him. He believed that it would encourage and nurture Tony's gifted mind and keep him from getting bored in regular classes. He smiled, "Tony is a very clever child, it's great to be teaching him."

The other nodded, "Yeah, Tony's always been bright. He says he wants to be a doctor when he's older." He smiled proudly, "And knowing him, he probably will be one."

Sanji's stomach decided to squeeze tight at the sight of that smile and he mentally scolded himself for it. Mr. Roronoa nodded, "Yeah, I think Tony will love this."

"Then all you have left to do is fill out this form. A letter will be sent home with Tony's new lessons scheduled on it." Sanji said, passing the piece of paper over and trying to ignore the strange feeling he got when his fingers brushed the other man's.

Sanji had been so engrossed in talking to the man that he hadn't noticed Tony inching closer and now he was sat by the coffee table. The teacher looked at him and Tony smiled happily and it took a moment for the blond to realise that the child was wearing a set of antlers on his head. Next to him, Mr. Roronoa was invested in signing that form and hadn't noticed.

Tony grinned, "I want to be a doctor."

Sanji nodded and replied, "Yeah, your dad said you wanted to be one."

Mr. Roronoa looked up briefly from the paper and Sanji could have sworn that the man was giving the child a pointed warning look.

"I'm going to be a doctor and I'm going to fix everyone who is poorly!" Tony giggled and the smile he gave was infectious.

"I'm sure you will, Tony."

"I can fix you if you want," Tony said suddenly, seemingly random.

"No, I'm not ill, Tony."

"Yes you are," The little boy said sternly, "You're very ill and I can fix you!"

Sanji frowned, curious at this little game Tony had started, "Alright then. What's wrong with me, Tony?"

The child looked at him long and hard, humming thoughtfully, "You are… tired aaaand… sad!"

The teacher blinked, surprised at how perceptive the kid was, "What should I do then, Doctor Tony?"

"No! I'm Doctor Chopper, I'm a reindeer!"

Sanji laughed at the innocence and how indignant Tony was, "Okay, what should I do then, Doctor Chopper?"

"Tony…" Mr. Roronoa said under his breath but whatever that was supposed to mean was lost on the child.

"You should be with daddy more because he's sad too! But he's been smiling since you came over!"

Tony's father seemed to have trapped himself in a rather dire cringe, his eyes shut tight and his brow furrowed, "Jesus Christ, Tony…" He murmured before relaxing just enough to say, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Black, I have no idea where he's getting all this from."

But the harsh blush that took up the entirety of the man's face told him exactly where Tony was getting all this from and he felt the heat rise in his own face and it felt shamelessly good, "It's alright," He said, trying to brush it off to remain professional. He had the feeling that Tony had probably made everything go awkward for the rest of the meeting and he wanted out from the uncomfortable shift of mood. He cleared his throat, "Just kids being kids. Why don't you send the form in tomorrow and I'll get going because it's getting pretty late?" He looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was almost 8pm.

Mr. Roronoa sighed, "Yeah… yeah, okay."

When they were stood at the door however, all that confidence Sanji had felt earlier came back because goddamn it he was damn sure now that this guy liked him and there was no way he was getting away again. Screw being professional, there was something more at stake here. He asked Mr. Roronoa to give him a second and tore off a strip from a piece of paper in the folder, scribbling numbers on it with a pen from his pocket and folded it in half. He held it out, "Here. Just in case you change your mind about the lessons or, you know, stuff…"

Mr. Roronoa frowned as he took it but Sanji held out and shook his other hand before the man could open it, "It was nice meeting you again, Mr. Roronoa."

The other almost fumbled the hand shake up, "It's Zoro."

Sanji smiled, "Sanji. Goodbye, Tony!"

"Bye!" Tony called from where he peered around the living room door.

When Sanji left the house he hurried to his car, all the confidence draining right out of him as he started the engine and pulled off the curb. He'd given the parent of one of his students his number and it was beginning to sink in alarmingly fast, messing him up inside as a range of emotions from embarrassment to excitement writhed in him.

What the hell had he been thinking? So much for staying professional…


	7. Talking

Kellermarie asked: I got one for you if you are still taking prompts. Now that Sanji's left, Zoro goes to change and Tony follows, finding the slip of paper before Dad does and questions him on it.

It was as Zoro was helping to dress Tony into a pair of pyjamas that his son found and seized the slip of paper hanging out of his father's pocket. Zoro had been intending to inspect what Mr. Bla- er, Sanji- had written when he'd had a moment to sit down after putting the kid to bed, but Tony seemed to have beaten him to it.

"What's this?" His son asked, frowning at the crumpled and folded strip of paper in his fingers. He opened it before Zoro could get it back and he was midway through scolding his son on the fact that he wasn't supposed to snatch things from people when Tony spoke, "It's covered in numbers..?" He asked, uncertain.

"What?" Zoro said, turning the slip in Tony's hand gently, and his blood jolted at what he saw. He'd been expecting the school contact number or email, but what he was reading was quite clearly a mobile phone number. This was a personal contact number to Sanji with no having to be redirected to a school office or other staff member beforehand. He could call and speak directly to him. Sanji's words to him at the door went through Zoro's mind, "Here. Just in case you change your mind about the lessons or, you know, stuff…"

What had Sanji meant by that exactly? Was this number strictly only for calling about Tony's lessons? No, it couldn't be or he'd have been given a school contact… And what had he meant by 'stuff'? What kind of stuff? There was an anxious kind of excitement dwelling in his stomach but he tried to stamp it down before it had a chance. He remembered Sanji's other words too- how he'd brushed off Tony's words as just 'kids being kids'. He wasn't interested like that in Zoro; there was no need to try and feed air into a fire that wasn't there. Still, it couldn't hurt to try and make a friend out of his son's teacher.

He took the paper from Tony and shrugged, "It's just a mobile number."

"Oh…"

Zoro lifted Tony up onto his hip and carried him to his bed to tuck him in. His son turned on the mattress when he was set down and cuddled into his always ready and waiting teddy with a yawn, "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

Tony looked up at him from the pillow with his soft brown eyes, "Why won't you and Mr. Black be friends?"

Zoro sighed, "It's complicated, Tony."

"Why?"

"Because…" Zoro didn't know how to word it.

"Is it because he doesn't like you the same way?" Tony asked, and Zoro was struck yet again by just how smart his son really was at grasping the concept of things. During the divorce, Zoro - with his ex's permission- had told Tony as well as he could about how he was homosexual in terms that the child could understand. Tony seemed to have got it instantly and clearly knew what his father had meant and had been perfectly fine with it.

"Yeah, I don't think he likes me that way." Zoro said softly and lay down next to his son with the feeling that this was going to be a longer discussion. Tony shuffled over and tugged at his father's arm until Zoro held him into his side in a one armed hug.

"I liked him." Tony said quietly, "But you're not lonely, dad. You have me."

Zoro smiled and ruffled Tony's hair, "Yeah, I've got you."

"I love you, dad." Tony said and Zoro felt his son's smile against his shirt.

"Love you too, Tony." Zoro said and at some point amidst Zoro telling him a story about pirates of old they both fell asleep.


	8. Advice from Luffy

Coolchessplayer asked: Omg i love that teacher/parent AU! If you can i would love an update if you have time, great work darling =D

anonymous asked: Single parent AU - you should make zoro get advice on the situation from Luffy and then later Sanji gets advice also from Luffy with Luffy not even realizing the men are talking about each other.

Friday was Zoro's day off from work and with Tony at school and not much else to do he was playing host to his closest of friends, Luffy. Luffy had decided that bringing round his box sets of Supernatural to binge watch was a great idea despite the fact he rarely seemed to concentrate on the show itself when it was playing until a fight scene started. Yet when questioned on it, Luffy could tell a person everything they'd ever need to know about the show. Zoro was fully aware that the binge watching was probably just a cover for the fact his older brother Ace wasn't home and there was no food left in the fridge, but after the week he'd had Zoro was grateful for the familiar company and the comfort of television (even if he had been planning to finish the Tolkien book that had been sat half read on the bedside table for a week).

After making them both a sandwich and filling a large bowl with a mixture of crisps, Zoro sat down on the sofa whilst Luffy messed with the remote and DVD set, "We're on season two, episode one, right?" He asked, finding his answer in Luffy's nod as he clicked play.

A sequence of angle shots and screeching bangs of a truck crunching into the side of an Impala car played on the 'Previously' introduction before cutting into the rush of medics and the injured protagonists. Luffy stuffed a half of his sandwich into his mouth, his cheeks puffing up comically, "Di ith mh favut ehode!" He said, voice muffled by bread.

Zoro laughed at him and shook his head, "I didn't catch a word of that."

Luffy grinned around his mouthful of food and swallowed, "This is my favourite episode!" He repeated.

Luffy was the younger adopted brother of an old university friend, Ace, which was how they'd met. Zoro had been a little put off by the younger at first but Luffy had a way of latching on to people and not letting go until he was so deep under the skin a person could never get him out, not that they'd want to because Luffy was a great guy once the effort was made to get to know him. He was childish in his usual mannerisms but perhaps the most mature of them all when faced with a situation. He was fiercely loyal, determined on every goal he set, and he had many interests in many areas, and even though he wasn't the brightest of people, it was his passion for life and the people he knew that inspired Zoro. The man felt and was secure in the knowledge that he could trust Luffy with anything, no matter how big or small- there was a reason Luffy was his best friend after all.

It was about halfway through the episode when Sam and Dean speak to each other via an Ouija Board that Zoro decided to talk about what was troubling him upon receiving Sanji's number yesterday. Zoro was at war with an inner turmoil. On one hand he wanted to message his son's teacher but he didn't know where to start, and on the other he didn't want to bother. He had assured himself somewhere that Sanji could simply not be interested in him after seeing him brush off Tony's comments so smoothly and only giving him the number to give him an opportunity to cancel Tony's extra lessons. But deep deep down Zoro wanted to believe it wasn't true despite his certainty in the matter and it was driving him insane. He'd no idea what to do and in moments like that he would turn to Luffy for some clarity, to help put together the pieces that didn't fit, because even though in personalities he and Luffy were as similar as chalk and cheese, he knew no one else got him like Luffy did. His best friend knew his traits and his quirks inside out. He knew what would and wouldn't annoy Zoro; he knew when Zoro was upset, and he knew how he would react to a variety of things. Those were the advantages of knowing someone for so long and Zoro was glad he and Luffy had that connection because Zoro would have been lost long ago after the divorce and suddenly overwhelming responsibility of caring for Tony by himself without Luffy's anchored support and advice.

"Hey, Luffy, I want to ask you something." Zoro said, and continued talking when Luffy looked at him expectantly, pausing the DVD at a rather ill opportune time, the large screen showing a rather hilarious expression of Dean in mid speech, "I… like someone, I guess, but I'm not sure where I stand with him and the situation."

Luffy frowned, "What d'you mean?"

Zoro shrugged, "I'm not sure whether it has the potential to become something or just be a friend kind of thing, you know?"

The other lapsed into silence with a thoughtful kind of face, "Well, what do you want it to be, Zoro?"

Zoro blinked. What did he want it to be? A relationship? Was he ready for one of those? "I'm not sure. Me and Tony are in a good place at the moment and…"

"If you're not sure then there's no reason to rush into things, I guess." Luffy said, "Make friends with him, see how that goes and then decide if you want more from it or not."

"I just want Tony to be able to see a functioning relationship and-"

"Zoro." Luffy said firmly with a hard look, "You have to make this decision for yourself. You shouldn't feel like you have to put yourself in a situation just for Tony. Anyway, Tony sees Usopp and Kaya, and Franky and Robin- he sees lots of relationships. You shouldn't pressure yourself like that. And isn't it equally a good thing that he can see you're happy without a relationship? He needs to see the many sides of things too; Tony's bright, he understands, and you shouldn't make yourself miserable to prove a point- you'll end up making both of you sad."

Zoro thought about it and Luffy did have a point; he had to be sure he wanted a relationship for himself before pursuing it. He was sure that if he went for Sanji Black then he would be doing it for himself but he still wasn't sure whether Sanji himself was even interested.

"Take your time Zoro and do things you're comfortable with doing- you shouldn't try and make anyone happy but yourself; and sometimes you have to take chances in order to find the answers." Luffy smiled reassuringly and Zoro smiled back.

"Thanks, Luffy."

The other leant against Zoro and chuckled as he resumed the playing of the episode and as they watched John Winchester offer his soul to a demon, Zoro decided that he'd take a chance and text Sanji Black for the sake of his own happiness and no one else's.


	9. Advice from Luffy 2

It was no secret from anyone that Luffy was a black hole when it came to food. He was sat at the table at Sanji's place with his head on the cool top and his right hand raised slightly above his head, his fingers twirling a dinner knife around as he waited. Ace had his boyfriend around tonight and usually he was allowed to stay in the house but tonight he'd been sent packing to Sanji's to crash there for the night. Sanji had set up the air bed in the living room of the apartment and was currently making dinner in the medium sized kitchen, the hissing of hot oil in the pan and the scent of cooking meat filling the room and making Luffy's mouth water.

Luffy watched Sanji sauté the stir fry and noodles he was cooking and whined, "Saaanjiiii, I'm huuungry…"

Sanji sighed but said nothing, having long since given up on trying to reassure his friend that the food was almost done and on its way. Instead he turned the gas off and began serving it onto the two plates on the side next to him. Still no contact from Mr. Ro- Zoro, and Sanji was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to call or message him at all. He felt a little stung at the rejection but he'd been prepared for it in all honesty, he hadn't gone head in thinking that anything would come out of this for certain.

Tony had been quiet today as he was teaching, more so than usual. Not that Tony was a loud child at all, but he spoke less during lessons and had barely interacted with any of his classmates. Sanji was concerned about that but it wasn't his business to pry in any further than a, "Are you okay?". He was sure he was probably to blame after last night's events; Tony had seemed really intent on getting what he wanted. He sighed again and carried the plates over to the table where a delighted cry from Luffy let Sanji know that he'd at least made one person happy.

They ate and the food was delicious, as per usual, but the sting of rejection and having upset one of his pupils made the taste not as enjoyable as it should have been to him. He didn't even put up much of a fight when Luffy, having cleared his own, began pinching food off Sanji's plate. Luffy, curious as to why he wasn't getting kicked in the head, sat back in his seat and took a long look at Sanji, pulling a face.

"Are you okay, Sanji?"

Sanji pushed a piece of chicken around with his fork until Luffy's hand reached over and stole it away- ah well, at least it wasn't being wasted. Sanji shrugged, "It's been a long week…"

"How come?" Luffy asked around a mouthful of noodles he'd just seized from Sanji's fork.

"There was this guy, I was interested, he wasn't, you know?" Sanji surrendered his whole plate to Luffy's grasp- he wasn't so hungry anymore, "And the kids have been… difficult. I'm just tired."

"What is it with everyone liking someone and them not liking them back?" Luffy mused aloud, a genuine frown on his face.

Sanji looked up from his plate, "What do you mean?"

Luffy shovelled another mouthful of food down his throat, "I dunno, I was talking to a friend today and he said the same thing." He shrugged, "Ehh, it's stupid really. If you like someone you should just tell them. Why play games with yourself and make yourself miserable? If you tell them you like them and they like you then that's great, but if they don't like you? Well, at least you tried and you don't have to play games anymore."

Sanji looked at Luffy with a startled kind of look on his face; no matter how used to it he should be, Sanji was always caught off guard by how perceptive the other was. He was torturing himself, he knew that now. He was only making himself miserable, waiting around for something that probably wouldn't happen. Perhaps he shouldn't let this whole thing with Mr. Roronoa be at the front of his mind so much, if something happened then it would happen, and if it didn't? Then at least he could get over it whilst he still could.

Sanji smiled a little, "Thanks, Luffy."

Luffy looked up from where he was licking the plate clean and grinned, "Okay! What's for dessert?"


	10. Bad text

Orangelies asked: As for the teacher/parent AU prompt, I think I've got an idea! What about Zoro wanting to text Sanji, but in his nervousness, he accidentally sends the text without finishing it? It could say something really embarrassing ;)

"Just text him already, your moody face isn't nice to look at, y'know." Nami stated sharply, scraping her fiery orange hair back and pulling it into a bobble. Zoro scowled at her in response and she thwapped him on the head with her notepad and stuck out her tongue. She rolled her eyes when she realised Zoro wasn't going to budge in his dilemma and sighed, "Where's Tony today?"

"He's with Robin and Franky, they've took him ice skating…" Zoro mumbled, still looking at the touch screen keypad of his phone as he hunched over the table.

Nami was a close friend despite the gruff attitude Zoro had towards her and her money fixations, and she worked as an accountant at one of the city's main banks which he supposed was an apt job for her. She had light brown eyes, fiery hair to match her fiery temper, and a slim build and pale skin dotted with clusters of freckles on her shoulders and across the bridge of her nose. Zoro had known her ever since he'd spilt a drink on her dress a few years ago and she'd charged him for a new one… plus interest. But possessiveness of money aside, Nami was a wild and charming character who was easy to get along with. She spoke her mind and was quick with wit, she never missed a beat, but she was a great drinking partner too and Zoro saw that as one of her best qualities.

However though, they weren't drinking today. Nami had just got off work and was planning to do nothing for the rest of the day, and Zoro had to pick up Tony in an hour so he couldn't afford even just one glass. But Nami had been curious as to just who this Sanji guy was that had Zoro so worked up and had asked him to come meet up with her in this little cafe, she wanted all the details.

She nudged him with her finger, "So… What's he like, this Sanji?"

Zoro looked at her suspiciously, "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm curious…" She smiled cheekily, "And because you don't want me to raise your debt."

Zoro snorted, "And there it is…" He smiled crookedly and shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno, he's just a guy I guess."

Nami frowned indignantly, "Come on, more specific than that!"

"I don't know! What do you want me to tell you?"

"I know he's a teacher from the last time we talked about him but that's all you've told me. So what does he look like? You know, stuff like that…" She hummed and leaned across the table a little, expectant.

Zoro felt awkward, pressured immediately. He had no clue what to start with, "He's… blond." He started and Nami nodded eagerly so he assumed he was doing okay and took a little confidence in that, "Blue eyes, he wears suits a lot…"

"Ooh, sounds classy." She winked.

"And he has… curly eyebrows?" Zoro hesitated to finish and Nami looked stunned a moment.

"Are you being serious?" She asked.

"Completely serious. They're so stupid but they suit him in a way, you know?" Zoro chuckled and Nami laughed.

"Oh my god, curly eyebrows… I've got to see them!" She giggled. "So why don't you text him if you like him?"

Immediately Zoro was on the defensive, "It's not like I haven't tried! I just… don't know what to write. Luffy encouraged me to message him yesterday but whatever I think of sounds clingy or weird."

He'd literally spent most of last night after Luffy had left and Tony had gone to bed, going through different types of messages he could send but had settled on none of them in the end. It was frustrating. Zoro wasn't great with words in the first place and trying to initiate a move on this guy was proving to be damn near impossible.

Nami hummed thoughtfully then held out her palm to him, "Pass me your phone."

"Why?"

"Just pass me the damn phone, Zoro. I can help, okay?"

As much as he hated to admit it, Nami was much better at acquiring dates than he was so, reluctantly, he handed the phone over and she smiled as she began to type, saying the words as she tapped them out, "What about: 'I want to see you-'…"

"No." Zoro said firmly.

Nami nodded, "Yeah, it sounds a little stalkerish… Let me delete it-" She huffed crossly all of a sudden, "Zoro, your phone's frozen."

Zoro held out his hand for it, "Pass it here, let me see."

The screen was stuck showing the same image of the backspace button lit up but the words weren't disappearing and Zoro sighed angrily at it and furiously began tapping the screen like it would somehow help.

In retrospect that had been the stupidest thing to do.

Zoro watched in confusion and then horror as the screen suddenly buffered, auto complete jumped to a conclusion from the now jumbled letters he'd mashed and sent itself to Sanji's number. A text he'd never wanted to send. Ever.

"I want to suck you"

"Fuuuuuuck!" Zoro snarled and dropped the phone to the table and buried his face in his hands. He heard Nami pick it up and begin to laugh. "I'm never going to able to look him in the face again. Why the fuck does this shit keep happening?! First Tony and now my phone too?"

Nami was howling, almost in tears with laughter. She wiped at her eyes as she tried to calm herself, "Oh my god, Zoro, I can't breathe!"

Zoro wanted to smack his head off the table, very, very hard.

Sanji was sure to not be interested in him now.


	11. An invitation to dinner

Anon asked: I think Zoro would call or text Sanji and be like "I CAN EXPLAIN" And Sanji should take advantage of this to tell Zoro "how about you explain over dinner with me" xD

Sanji was mooching about in the kitchen of his adoptive father's restaurant with a sour look on his face. He missed this place, being able to cook in it, shouting at the other chefs, this was the environment he'd wanted to work in ever since the shitty old geezer had dragged him home from the orphanage and shown him what real food was like. He remembered the days when Zeff had him sit on one of the upturned empty vegetable crates and peel carrots and potatoes until his hands were red and sore as a way to train his hands around the utensils. He'd sit there for hours in that little corner by the sink in a steamy kitchen with Zeff shouting at someone every ten seconds for screwing up, peeling vegetables until he couldn't move his fingers and his arms shook with the effort.

He used to curse the old man for that but now he understood why for he had a strong steady grip on anything he held, Zeff had worked his hands into being something valuable. Sanji's whole livelihood as a teen working in that kitchen had depended on the hands Zeff had built but then school took a turn and grades weren't achieved and Sanji had to let the dream of owning his own restaurant go.

He wondered though what it would have been like if he were the head chef of his own restaurant. He'd aspire to be like Zeff; an excellent chef, respected and feared by his staff. Sanji would have owned the best restaurant in town and people from all over the world would come to taste his food, he could see himself and his restaurant clear as day in his mind. A while ago he would have added the gorgeous wife to be stood next to him but Zoro looked just as good there with his stupid green hair and a smile on his face.

Damn, he was completely smitten, wasn't he?

"Eggplant!" Zeff's gruff bark of that stupid childhood name made Sanji wince, "I heard your phone go off so go answer it and take your miserable face somewhere else if you're gonna sulk!"

"Shitty old geezer!" Sanji growled under his breath but left the kitchen anyway and headed up the stairs; Zeff had more than enough stress dealing with the other chefs let alone a sulking adult son.

Upstairs was where he and Zeff had used to live, just Zeff now that Sanji had moved out. He stepped into the living room and snatched his phone off the table- it was probably just a message from Luffy saying he'd eaten all the food in the house. But when he clicked the button he was surprised to see a number he didn't recognise followed by a strange message of 'I want to suck you'.

He frowned, who the hell had sent him this? What did it mean? Wh-

Clarity struck him like a brick thrown at his head. There was no one else whose number it could be, he hadn't given his number to anyone in weeks.

Anyone but Zoro.

His palms immediately began to dampen with sweat and a heat set in on his cheeks awkwardly at the realisation of both the sender and the sent message. He read it again, out loud, "I want to suck you?"

Well that was a little forward of Zoro, wasn't it? Not that Sanji wouldn't be up for it if Zoro wanted that but still, whatever happened to dating first? And they say romance is dead…

Sanji swallowed a little dryly, trying to ignore the sudden vivid images of Zoro doing something with his mouth that a teacher really shouldn't think about one of his student's parent like. He flushed a little and bit his bottom lip.

What to say? How did you respond to something like that? Sanji had sexted before but no one had ever been that shamelessly forward…

He was about to click the lock on his phone, deciding to reply later once he'd had chance to think of something when it began vibrating in his hand and his chest tightened at the sight of Zoro's number flashing on the screen. Zoro was calling him.

He fumbled to hit the accept call and held it to his ear. He expected that deep voice, smooth, probably to talk dirty to him but what he got was Zoro's voice in a much more panicked tone.

"Sanji?"

"Yeah?"

"It's me, Zoro."

Sanji could hear a woman's laughter in the background and some low murmurings of people talking from some distance.

Zoro continued talking, "So you probably got that text and are weirded out but it was an accident, I swear I-"

Sanji felt a little oddly deflated at the fact Zoro had only sent that by accident, "No, it's okay, I'm not-"

"Just let me explain and I can-"

Zoro went to rabbit on about a frozen screen or something but Sanji cut him off with a sudden swell of confidence. Perhaps it was the fumes from the kitchen getting to his head, or maybe just hearing Zoro's voice made Sanji want to see him again. Either way Sanji cut Zoro off,

"Sure, you can explain it to me. Over dinner."

Zoro went silent a second, "…Dinner?"

"Yeah, you know… if you want to?" Sanji's head was suddenly turning on red flashing lights and screaming ABORT ABORT. What the hell had he been thinking?!

When Zoro spoke again it was a little softer, a little more calmer, "Yeah… I'd like that."

"You would?" Sanji caught himself, "Er, I mean, great! I'll text you the details and stuff."

"Okay."

Sanji was seizing up. No no no! Why had he asked him to dinner?! "I er, I gotta gonowbye." He stumbled and hit end call before Zoro had a chance to reply.

He dropped his arm by his side and stood still, a little stunned.

He'd asked Zoro on a date.

And Zoro had said yes.


	12. Being picked up

Shaetil asked: You should totally have Tony come. XD maybe have Zoro agonize over the fact that he forgot to ask Sanji if Tony was included in that invite? Only for Sanji to text and ask if a restaurant that serves burgers and ice cream would be okay for Tony… Then Sanji will mercilessly tease Zoro all night about the text because Zoro blushes each time, and Tony keeps trying to figure out what they're talking about because Sanji is talking in code, and Zoro keeps trying to change the subject to learning about Sanji…  
Shit.  
You have me headcanoning the crap outta this AU. XD I hate you!

After a few shortly exchanged texts, Sanji and Zoro had decided on Sunday being the day for their date. This wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't been the very next day after sending that god awful text and Zoro had had no chance to find Tony an appropriate babysitter; Robin and Franky had both come down with a heavy cold, Nami was going to charge him extortionate prices if he asked her, and the last time he left Tony at Perona's his son had come home in an ugly bear costume which the pink haired girl had insisted was cute.

Out of options, Zoro had ran Tony a bath and pulled out his smarter looking clothes from the wardrobe. Tony was currently in the bath tub splashing the water with his hands and watching it slosh about. He giggled and then called out, "Dad?"

Zoro paused in looking for the house keys in his own bedroom, "What, Tony?"

"Can I go as Doctor Chopper?"

"Not to- ah hah!" Zoro seized his keys from the foot of the bed, "Not tonight, Tony!"

He heard the thud of two little feet and the rattle of the towel rack as Tony got out of the bath. His son padded barefoot down the hall and appeared in the bedroom doorway with the towel wrapped around him and his face in a sour looking pout. His curly brown hair had become damp from the steam of the bath water and it flopped into his large eyes, "Why not?"

"Just not tonight, okay? No arguments." Zoro finished buttoning up the last few buttons on his black shirt and folded the collar neatly down.

"Where are we even going?"

"We're going to dinner."

"Is it with Luffy?" Tony said warily, "Last time he nearly ate everything!"

Zoro smiled, "No, not with Luffy. We're going to dinner with Mr. Black."

Tony looked at him blankly a moment before recognition widened his eyes and a big, hopeful grin spread on his face, "My teacher?"

"Yes, your teacher."

"Yes!" Tony chirped and proceeded to run off down the hall as fast as he could with a towel wrapped around him towards his bedroom.

"Your clothes are on your bed, Tony!" Zoro called after him, a soft smile on his lips at seeing the delight on his son's face. He just hoped Sanji would be okay with Tony coming along.

—

The door was knocked a few minutes after 5pm and by then Tony was in an excited, fitful mood and Zoro was struggling to get him to sit still on the sofa for ten minutes. Zoro opened the door, too preoccupied with Tony's demands that he open the door to be nervous.

Sanji looked… stunning. There was no other word Zoro could think of. The teacher wasn't over dressed but the tight black jeans with the light blue button up with the sleeves rolled to the elbow have the impression of casual but smart. His blond hair looked recently straightened and he was wearing a pair of thick framed black glasses over his soft blue eyes.

"Hi." He said, a confident smile and posture to his body that told Zoro that this probably wasn't the first date he'd ever been on with a guy. For Zoro this was the first time he'd ever dated another man, so busy was he with Tony that he hadn't the time to date, not even casually. He wasn't even sure how dates went anymore.

"Hi," Zoro said, holding Tony back with one hand to stop the little boy from launching himself onto the teacher he loved so much, "Um, I'm really sorry to ask this but can- can Tony come along? I couldn't find a babysitter at such short notice and-"

Sanji smiled and cut him off, "Yeah, of course he can, it's fine."

Zoro stalled, "Y-you're sure?"

"Sure thing, we can go somewhere kid friendly if you want?"

Sanji sounded sincere and cheery about the fact Tony was coming and it threw Zoro off slightly. He hadn't expected such a positive response to his son coming along let alone an offer to go somewhere family friendly. But Sanji just kept surprising him like that, didn't he?

"Why don't we go to that pizza place? It's got a play area and stuff." The blond asked.

"Pizzaaa!" Tony yelled from behind his father and pushed past Zoro to bound down the front step and onto the drive, "I want pizza!"

Zoro, embarrassed by his son's behaviour, chided him, "Er, where are your manners, Tony?"

"Oh," The little boy blinked before roaring, "I want pizzaaa!… Please."

Sanji laughed and Tony giggled. Zoro sighed, but a smile had crept it's way onto his face as he watched Sanji open the back car door and help buckle Tony into his seat. Zoro locked the door behind him and got into the front passenger seat, Sanji sliding into the driver's after him. The teacher smiled at him warmly, "It's okay you know," He said quietly, "I don't mind that Tony's coming."

Zoro shrugged, "Try saying that to the other guys who were interested in me."

Zoro remembered the way they had looked at Tony as if he was some sort of unwanted spare baggage and he remembered how angry it had made him to see them react like that to his own son which he loved entirely. He almost started when Sanji's hand touched his shoulder. The teacher was looking at him with an oddly tender look in his blue eyes, "Well, they don't know what they're missing out on."

Zoro flushed hotly as Sanji started the car and pulled off into the road. Sanji seemed almost too good to be true.


	13. The Date

The car ride would have been a comfortable silence if Tony hadn't insisted on singing 'The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round' for ten minutes followed by a rendition of his oh so famous 'Are we there yet?'. Much to Zoro's surprise though, Sanji took the whole thing on the shoulder and even joined in with some of Tony's singing. He was patient when Tony asked if they were nearly there yet and even put the radio on when Tony wanted music.

Zoro was shocked but it was a good kind of shocked; he'd met a few guys before but none of them wanted anything to do with Zoro when they found out he had a kid already. It was insulting to think that someone wouldn't want to spend time with his son. Tony was bright, charismatic, a little on the shy side around strangers but loud once you got to know him, and though he could be annoying sometimes he was a good kid and Zoro was insanely proud of him. So with this past of men in mind, Zoro was caught off guard by the fact that Sanji had accepted Tony so openly and so quickly- he was expecting at least a little bit of a cold shoulder- but looking at them now, buckled up in Sanji's car with the teacher guessing answers to the game of 'I Spy' that Tony had got going, he couldn't help but see an image.

They looked like a family.  
—

"I used to come here as a kid," Sanji said as they walked through the car park to the building before them. They walked in a straight line across, Sanji next to Zoro with Tony hanging on to his father's arm.

As they walked past the window, Tony jumped as he walked to look through the glass, "Dad!" He gasped, "There's a slide! And a ball pit! Can I go play? Please?"

"We've got to get a table first, Tony," Zoro said, "But then you can go and play for a while, okay?"

"Yes!" He began tugging on Zoro's arm, "Come on, come on! Let's goooo!"

Sanji laughed, "You heard him, let's go."

Zoro smiled and he thought he saw out the corner of his eye, Sanji moving a little closer to walk beside him.

It didn't take them long to get seated in a booth by the window that was close to the soft play area and no sooner had they sat down then Tony had shucked off his coat and kicked off his shoes and made a beeline for the play equipment with a cry of joy. Sanji sat the opposite side of the table to Zoro so they were face to face and chuckled softly to himself. Zoro gave him a look, "What?"

"Nothing. I just really don't know anything about you, do I?" Sanji replied.

Zoro shrugged, "It's much the same for you too."

The teacher hummed as if to say 'fair enough', "You look nice," He said, looking the other man up and down very openly and Zoro flushed.

"Shut up."

Instead of being put off, Sanji seemed to enjoy the response he'd provoked if his smug little smirk was anything to go by. Zoro felt a little swung around suddenly from Sanji's sudden dive from the teacher he knew to an open flirt but the way the blond held himself- more relaxed and natural- told him that perhaps this was more of the real Sanji that he couldn't show given his profession. And as this was a date, this was the kind of Sanji he had to dig out. He had to get to know the real Sanji and that could either make or break this date. If he didn't like Sanji then the whole thing was off and Zoro would have to go through months of Tony being downhearted and blaming himself again for his dad never being with anyone very long- he'd been through that enough to last a lifetime after the divorce came through.

"So," Sanji said, folding his arms and resting them on the table as he leaned forward a bit, "Tell me about yourself."

Zoro must've pulled a face because the teacher sighed, "You don't talk about yourself much, do you?"

Zoro shrugged, "It's not that. I just haven't really dated anyone in years and the people I do know know everything about me so I don't have to explain it to people."

"Well, why don't I start?" Sanji offered, "You already know my name, and that I'm your son's teacher. But there's more. So I'll start from the beginning, yeah? My old man owns the Baratie and-"

"The Baratie?" Zoro asked, surprised. That was the fanciest restaurant in town with it's lavish décor, fine foods, and its five star rating, "That's the best restaurant in town, right?"

Sanji laughed, "I won't tell him you said that, his ego is big enough already. But yeah, he owns the restaurant and I used to want to be a chef when I was a kid. He didn't have to take me in, you know, he really didn't have to take me in. I must've been six when he fostered me for a while and I was a little shit."

Something seemed to change in the blond's face, almost like shame, and when he caught Zoro's questioning look, he continued, "I had attachment issues and I got angry a lot. I broke his stuff whenever I was mad just because I could." He shrugged, "I guess it was because I'd convinced myself no one wanted me around- it was almost like I was trying to get him to ditch me back at the orphanage. But he didn't, he adopted me less than a month later." He sighed but it was with a smile, "I always tell him he's an idiot."

Sanji seemed to catch himself and he grimaced under Zoro's gaze, "I'm sorry, you probably didn't want to hear all that and-"

"No." Zoro said, "We're supposed to get to know each other, right?"

Sanji studied him a moment before smiling, "Right."

Zoro tried his turn at opening up, "I was adopted too, by Koshiro. No one knows where I came from and I was too young to remember but I wound up on those orphanage steps either way. He owned a dojo with his daughter, Kuina, and she became my sister eventually. We used to fight each other with practise swords all the time and she always used to beat me- I never did win against her. But… things… happened and I ended up getting married, having Tony, realising that I was gay, getting divorced, and then finally moved town and here we are." Zoro gestured between them.

Sanji looked dissatisfied with that answer, "Seriously? Come on, I've told you what happened, you could at least tell me in more detail!"

"Nuh-uh, I don't just tell that kind of stuff to anybody- I've got to know them well first." Zoro said.

Sanji huffed, "Fine. Fair enough," Then he smirked, "I guess I'll just have to keep dragging you on dates then until you tell me."

Zoro's stomach twisted at the barely disguised promise of more dates to come but he brushed it off coolly, "That doesn't mean I have to tell you anything."

"Hmm, then how about an exchange?"

"What d'you mean?"

Sanji's blue eyes glinted sharply, mischievously, "How about every time I kiss you, you tell me something new?"

Zoro felt the flush rush across his cheeks and tinge the tips of his ears, "Shut up, you're an idiot."

"I don't hear a 'no'…"

"Shut up!" Zoro repeated, but this time laughed. For the first time in a long time he was having fun on a date. With his now ex wife their dates had been, though entertaining, not as open as this. Sanji was just free about everything and there was a charm and a character in it that seemed to draw him in. Zoro was enjoying himself fully.

"You'll at least tell me about your hair, right?" Sanji asked and Zoro instantly put his hand to his head defensively.

"What about it?"

"It's green! Why do you dye your hair green?"

"I don't dye it, it's natural!"

"Seriously?! It looks like grass," Sanji laughed, "Or even better yet, you look like a marimo!"

Zoro felt himself getting riled up about the teasing but he wasn't angry. He was rather the opposite. This was enjoyable, he liked that Sanji wasn't afraid to wind him up. Most people tended to avoid that because his constant frown made them think he was ill tempered. Sanji seemed to want to challenge him every step of the way and Zoro liked being challenged.

"Well what about your eyebrow, huh?" Zoro retorted, enjoying the way Sanji's face turned beet red.

"H-hey, that's natural too, you know! I can't help that!"

"I dunno, a curly eyebrow just doesn't seem natural to me."

"Says the man with green hair!" Sanji pointed and they both paused before laughing at each other. He was so used to being serious around Tony all the time that Zoro almost forgot what it was like to act stupid sometimes or even go out on a date. Sanji was bringing out a side in him that he hadn't seen in years and he loved it.

Their discussion fell soon into work and though Sanji tried to weasel out some more of Zoro's past, Zoro simply wouldn't let him hear any more of it and talked about their interests. They shared quite a few apparently, both in books, TV shows, and movies, they differentiated on music and fashion but if they were identical in every way then it'd be a bit too much. Zoro liked the fact that Sanji was so similar and so different at the same time. Around midway into a discussion about Game of Thrones, Tony made another appearance wanting pizza so they ordered and Tony sat with them, filling out an activity sheet from the kids area and colouring in the picture on the side.

The little boy seemed to have worn himself out but after a few slices of pizza and a fizzy drink he was off again into the soft play area whilst Sanji paid the bill before Zoro could protest. As Sanji paid, Zoro gave Tony ten minutes before fetching him from the play area, "Come on," He said as he helped his son lace up his shoes and put on his coat, "It's almost your bed time."

"Dad?" Tony asked, "Do you like Mr. Black again, now?"

Zoro lifted the little boy up and onto his hip to carry him and thought to how much he'd enjoyed the evening and how nice Sanji's blue eyes were, and how the corners of his mouth dimpled slightly when he smiled, and the way he flicked his head every now and then to control the flop of hair over his right eye. He rubbed Tony's back with his free hand, "Yeah, Tony, I do."  
—

Zoro guessed the embarrassment was bound to happen at some point so he wasn't all that surprised when Tony complained of stomach ache on the way to the car and turned his head to throw up over Zoro's shoulder and all over Sanji's shoes. He would've apologised but Tony started crying and Zoro was too preoccupied in soothing his son to do it.

"It's okay," Sanji said after he'd cleaned up and got in the car, "As a teacher I'm used to kids throwing up on me, trust me, it's nothing new."

By the time they got back and up to the door, Tony was feeling better and he barrelled past and through the doorway, knocking Sanji off balance on the front step and he would have fallen back if Zoro's quick reflexes hadn't of caused him to shoot out his arm and grab the teacher's wrist, using it to pull him upright. Sanji looked a little stunned but otherwise fine and laughed a little in his relief at not having cracked his head off the brickwork of the drive.

Zoro apologised on behalf of his son, "Sorry about that…"

"It's fine," Sanji reassured him with a smile and then began an uncomfortable silence caused mainly by the fact that Zoro hadn't a clue what to say. Luckily Sanji decided to supply some conversation, "Tonight was fun."

Zoro rolled his eyes, "I don't really think Tony vomiting on your shoes counts as something fun."

Sanji chuckled, "It came off pretty easily. You don't have to keep apologising you know, Tony's great."

Zoro stumbled with his words a little, "It's just I haven't really done this- dating- in so long and I-"

Suddenly Sanji moved close and Zoro became hyper aware of the small amount of space between them and the fact he was still holding onto Sanji's wrist and his face heated rapidly under the skin. Sanji was too close now and Zoro slackened his grip on the teacher's arm but he was too frozen to move away.

In a movement so fluid he almost missed it, Sanji leaned in and pressed his lips softly to Zoro's left cheek, just near the corner of his mouth and then pulled away.

Zoro became also aware that the teacher had turned his wrist so his hand was now cupped lightly around Zoro's. Sanji looked up at him with those stunning blue eyes and Zoro could feel the place Sanji had kissed as the skin there felt electrified and prickled, burning with excitement and Zoro would have given anything that moment to have Sanji kiss him again.

"I hope we can do this again sometime?" Sanji asked with a smile but then looked a little embarrassed, "You know, if you want…"

Zoro was still a little dazed from the kiss and the fact Sanji was still holding his hand, "Yeah, I'd like that."

There was another brief moment of awkwardness as Sanji let go of the other's hand but he saved it with a grin and a promise to text him soon.

"Oh," Sanji turned around to look at him as he walked down the drive, "That counts as a kiss, so you owe me a story next time, okay?"

He got in his car, started the engine, and waved. Zoro waved back and watched him pull off and drive away, he brought his hand to his cheek.

Sanji had kissed him.


	14. Tony's mom

No, Tony, you can't eat any more chocolates from your advent calendar." Zoro said firmly to his little son who pouted.

"Why not?"

"Because you're only supposed to have one every day to count down to Christmas."

Tony slid off his chair at the kitchen table and skulked into the living room, a few seconds later a theme tune to some children's show began to play. Zoro sighed, Tony always struggled around Christmas and it didn't help that the boy's birthday was on Christmas Eve either. Tony became unpredictable in his mix of excitement and sadness and would have days of either one. Since the divorce, Tony had had to bear a lot of unfulfilled promises from his mother that she would come visit, but there was always a last minute cancellation. There hadn't been a phone call nor a message of any kind that even suggested she was coming this year so this Christmas was probably going to be considerably harder for him.

Zoro wanted to be outright angry at his ex-wife but he couldn't find the time to be, so preoccupied was he with trying to keep Tony cheerful through the weeks before and after that he had only time to be annoyed in small outbursts in private. He moved across the room and hall and into the living room to see Tony huddled up on the sofa, hugging a pillow close to him with the throw covering him like a blanket. Zoro leant on the back of the piece of furniture and rubbed where Tony's arm was reassuringly. In the corner stood the tree, a live one this year on Tony's insistence, completely undecorated until Zoro had time on Friday to do it with his son. But he saw Tony's eyes flickering to it with a longing kind of look and frowned, "Do you want to decorate it now?" Zoro asked.

Tony, however, shook his head, "No."

"How come?"

"Don't feel like it." The little boy murmured.

Zoro's heart ached, he loved Tony to pieces and it hurt to see him so upset. Looking at the sadness in his son's eyes, he wanted to get angry at his ex-wife there and then but he knew it would do no more than make the situation worse. He tried to distract the little boy, "How was school?"

"Okay." Came the dull reply.

"Did you have fun?"

Tony didn't even indulge in an answer then, merely shrugging his shoulders. Zoro pushed himself upright and walked around to sit next to the child, beckoning with his hand, "Come here, Tony."

Reluctantly, the boy sat upright and shuffled closer until Zoro grabbed him and bundled him into a hug, "It's okay."

Tony burrowed his face into his father's shirt and his little hands clenched into the material of it. When he spoke it was muffled and Zoro felt hot little wet patches begin to form on the material, "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Tony." Zoro said firmly and held the boy a little tighter to him, "I always will."

He sat there quietly with his sobbing son until he'd calmed enough for Zoro to begin shushing him softly.

"Why won't mom come?" Tony whispered, voice hoarse from his crying, and the sight and sound of him was breaking Zoro's heart to witness.

"She's busy, she can't help it," Zoro lied; he'd no clue why she never came to Christmas. "It's alright, Tony. Come on, you've got me."

Tony sniffled and only said one word, "Dad…"

"Tell you what, you can have my chocolate out of my advent calendar, yeah?" Zoro said, stroking his son's head softly, "Will that cheer you up?"

Tony sniffed his now runny nose from crying and managed a very small giggle, "Chocolate…"

Zoro smiled warmly, "I knew that would make you happy," he said, looking at his son's watery smile, "Go on, you go fetch the calendar and then you can have the chocolate."

As soon as Tony had left the room, Zoro seethed with anger at his ex-wife. How the hell could she keep doing this to Tony? The poor child was going to grow up thinking she stopped loving him. He wanted to hit something but he couldn't scare his son like that and make him cry even more so Zoro took a moment to think of the next best thing and his heart clenched for an entirely different reason and the skin next to the corner of his mouth tingled anew with the ghost of a kiss.

He fished his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a blank text template and hastily typed in before forwarding to Sanji, 'Let me take you up on that 'telling you something new'. When are you free?'

He needed someone to vent to.


	15. Another date planned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has/wants to make art for this au (I've had a lot of asks for permission to draw stuff) then I'm totally cool with it! Send me a link or tag me on Tumblr so I'll be sure to see it! Thanks for reading!

'Let me take you up on that 'telling you something new'. When are you free?'

Sanji read the text as it flashed up on the screen of his phone, looking up from the marking he was making on a child's homework with an expression of surprise as he stuck on a brightly coloured hedgehog sticker next to the comment of 'wonderful work!' he'd made.

It was now Tuesday, two days after his and Zoro's official date, and in all honesty he hadn't been expecting a text back so soon. Zoro seemed to be wanting to take things slow and Sanji respected that, giving the man some space about it and he wasn't going to offer another date to Zoro until later in the week. He still cringed awkwardly at remembering what he'd said to the green haired man, "How about every time I kiss you, you tell me something new?" Jesus, how stupid must that have sounded? He was an idiot…

But here Zoro was nevertheless, offering a date as clear as day. Sanji was startled by the suddenness of it but pleased as well- at least Zoro seemed to be interested enough to initiate a second meeting with him and Sanji was more than curious about learning more about the other. He would have to think about the date though. He couldn't do Sunday this week, he'd promised the old geezer he'd help out at the restaurant, but he could do Saturday and hopefully Zoro could too. He sent his reply with his offer of the weekend day and implied he was free the whole day from morning to night, he even put in a little winking emoji afterwards which was perhaps a little pathetic but he hoped Zoro would get what was suggested there. It was almost a third date, and you know what they say about third dates…

Sanji sat up from his marking properly and yawned- it was already evening, where had the day gone? He'd poured all his energy into marking over twenty exercise books and he felt drained physically and mentally from it but with an offer to meet up again, he found himself feeling a bit more perky. He was already mentally choosing the clothes he would wear- casual but smart, and something he'd look great in. It had been a long while since Sanji had expressed a genuine interest both romantically and sexually in someone and it was refreshing and a little odd to be back in the dating scene but he was enjoying himself nevertheless.

Zoro messaged him back, affirming Saturday afternoon was okay and that Sanji could pick where they'd go for it because he'd been able to find Tony a babysitter. Sanji barely had to think about it now that he didn't have to accommodate for Tony. He loved the kid of course, Tony was a cute cheery child, but it had been difficult at last notice to find somewhere child friendly that was open late. At least this time it was a little easier.

Sanji smiled as he thumbed in his message and sent it, "Have you heard of The Baratie?"


	16. The Baratie

The restaurant was busy tonight as always, the Baratie was a popular place after all, and Zoro was ten minutes late when he slid into the chair of the table for two and made an apology for his tardiness, muttering something about 'struggling to find the place'. Sanji smiled, he didn't mind, all that mattered was that Zoro was here and this was officially their second date. They ordered their drinks to one of the new waitresses and began to make small talk whilst they waited for them and a menu.

"How's Tony?" Sanji asked.

Zoro rolled his eyes, "He's excited it's almost Christmas but that's kind of a problematic time of the year for me and him." He sighed, "He wears himself- and me- out."

Sanji frowned at the darkness he was beginning to notice under the man's eyes that certainly hadn't been there the last time they'd seen each other. Zoro looked exhausted and not just from a long day- he looked like he'd suffered a long week. He didn't like to pry but Zoro looked as if he could use someone to rant to and besides, Zoro owed him a little bit of backstory since that kiss on the front door step, "Can I… ask what's wrong?" He stumbled after when he noticed Zoro had pursed his lips with a deep set frown on his face, "You don't have to tell me though."

Zoro opened his mouth slightly and closed it again and Sanji could see the frustration on his face as the moss haired man sighed, "It's… I don't know where to start," he said, shaking his head.

Sanji was about to respond but they were interrupted by the waitress bringing their drinks and menus over on a tray, setting them down and asking if they needed anything else before leaving. Zoro instantly went for his cider and took a deep gulp of it and Sanji could see that whatever was on Zoro's mind was really bothering him. The teacher took a small sip of his drink before speaking, "Why don't you try from the beginning?"

Zoro looked at him, his dark eyes really searching his face, and it made Sanji feel warm before he nodded, "I'm divorced, that's why I'm a single parent- I have full custody of Tony. My ex and I weren't together all that long. I realised through the third of our four years of being married that I… I just didn't love her any more. I loved her like a friend and I didn't know what was wrong for so long and I just hid it from her and one day I knew what it was; I knew I was gay. We got divorced and we used to have a shared custody of Tony for a year but she got a big promotion at her job and she travels too much to take care of him which is why he's with me now."

Zoro was staring at his bottle, nails picking at the large label on the front as Sanji listened intently. The teacher got the impression from the lack of eye contact that this wasn't something Zoro was very open about with people and he felt a little flattered that Zoro trusted him enough to talk about it, "We're still friends- she Skypes Tony sometimes too, and always sends birthday and Christmas cards- but she's never actually there, you know?"

Zoro picked more furiously at the label, tearing up chunks of the moistened paper, "She promises she'll come, every damn year, but she doesn't. There's always some excuse, like it'll make everything better. Tony hasn't seen his mom in person in over two years, almost three, and every year he gets excited for Christmas because he thinks she's coming to see him and I have to see him get so heartbroken every time the cancellation comes through. It's not fair on him. He's such a great kid and I can't see him get like that, you know?"

Sanji didn't know what to do. He was seeing pain in Zoro's eyes for the first time and it hurt him to witness it. Zoro cared so much for his son and Tony was such a sweet child and he agreed that it was unfair to the poor kid that his mother wouldn't turn up for one of the most important days of the year, but Sanji didn't know the whole picture- perhaps she really did have a reason but she just couldn't explain it? Perhaps he was just making excuses on her behalf, but Sanji's nature just wouldn't allow him to fully blame her though he did feel some resentment towards this ex-wife for making Zoro and Tony feel this way.

Without much thought put into it, more based upon instinct, Sanji reached out and placed his hand onto Zoro's with its furiously moving fingers. The other's skin was warm, firm, but soft to the touch and a little damp with the perspiration from the bottle. Zoro's fingers halted in their movements and his head snapped up to look Sanji in the eyes, expecting him to speak, but Sanji had nothing to offer- what could he possibly say that would make anything better? Then his head formed an idea.

"Come upstairs with me?"

Zoro's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Wha-?"

"Come upstairs with me." Sanji repeated, getting to his feet and not letting go of Zoro's hand as he did so so he could tug the other man into action.

A little confused and bewildered, Zoro got to his feet, "But what about the drinks-?" He started but Sanji cut him off.

"There's drink upstairs, it's fine." And with that he pulled the man along with him to the double swing doors of the kitchen where some of the chefs looked up at their intruding- Patty and Carne raising an eyebrow- but returned to their work nonetheless when the duo went through a side door and up the stairs to Zeff's home above the restaurant.

"Sanji? Where are we going?" Zoro asked, a little warily as he was pulled along.

"My old man lives above the restaurant and I used to at one point as well. He's not in tonight so he won't mind us using it." He let go of Zoro's hand as they reached the top of the stairs and stepped in and turned left into the living room, "Make yourself at home," He said, gesturing to the sofa, "I'll get us something to eat- Zeff freezes some meals so it won't take too long."

Sanji looked at Zoro's confused face and said, "You seemed a little tense and upset down there so I thought being up here would be better if you wanted to talk more."

"Oh." Zoro replied and finally sat down on the sofa.

"I'll get the drinks," Sanji said, "I'll be right back."

After heating up two of Zeff's homemade meals and opening a bottle of wine, Sanji sat down on the sofa beside Zoro after two trips to bring in plates and then fetch the wine glasses. Zoro took a mouthful and the noise he made was a sin to Sanji's ears and made his blood jolt excitedly, "This is really good!"

"My old man made it, he's the best chef there is," Sanji replied, trying to push out the dirty thoughts of Zoro's moan and replace it with a smile at the contented look on the man's face, "I used to want to be a chef too, like him."

Zoro nodded, "Yeah? How come you became a teacher then? Did you change your mind?"

Sanji noted how Zoro had become more relaxed now he was out of the restricting atmosphere of a busy restaurant and his conversation flowed normally, more freely. The teacher shook his head and took a sip of his wine, "Something like that, I don't really like to talk about it."

"Oh…" Zoro said, clearing his throat awkwardly and taking another bite of food. Sanji realised his mistake and back-pedalled to fix it.

"The new Game of Thrones episode came out yesterday…" He tried, knowing from their last date that Zoro, like himself, was an avid watcher and reader of the novels and immediately he saw the other's eyes light up.

"It did? I must've forgot to record it."

"Yeah, it was a good episode," Sanji said and their conversation lapsed into one of a discussion of who did they like more; Jon Snow, Tyrion, or Danaerys? Zoro said Jon because he liked his sword fighting and Sanji said Danaerys because she was beautiful and had dragons, and dragons just mean an instant win no matter what.

They got through a bottle and a half of wine and were completely relaxed on the sofa, comfortably full from good food and drink, when Zoro cursed, "Shit! I'm over the limit- I can't drive home, and you can drive me back either."

Sanji sucked in a breath, "Shhhit."

Zoro patted at his pockets, "I better ring Franky, have him pick me up. Is it okay if I pick up my car tomorrow?"

Sanji nodded and yawned, "Mhmm, it's okay."

Zoro pushed himself to sit up straight and Sanji did the same out of politeness as a host.

"Thanks for tonight, and for listening to me about all that. I've just been stressed and-"

"It's okay." Sanji said, "Any time."

There was a drawn out silence and neither of them moved or spoke, just looked at each other closely and quietly and then Zoro, smoothly and fluidly, leaned in and pressed his lips to Sanji's, drawing away before the blond had a chance to react but he didn't move far and Sanji took advantage of the closeness of their faces to kiss Zoro back. Then suddenly it became an unstoppable action. For every kiss Zoro gave, Sanji returned with one of his own. Sanji felt his breathing getting heavier, more irrational, and Zoro's was becoming the same.

A warm hand touched Sanji's cheek and stayed there, another cupped onto his side by his stomach just above his hip, and they set him alight on the places they touched, his skin prickling with barely repressed excitement. He wanted Zoro to touch him more as his own hands held on to the other's shirt at his chest, fingers tangled in the fabric. Zoro was kissing his thoroughly, deeply, but with meaning. Each press of his lips were more tender than the last and it was driving Sanji mad; his heart pushing into overdrive and his blood sparking with emotion. He needed more. Oh God, he needed more.

Suddenly Zoro pulled him closer and broke his most recent kiss with a breathy gasp, "More…" He murmured and Sanji's heart almost went into cardiac arrest as he settled himself to sit on Zoro's lap and resume what they'd started, the kisses deeper and more satisfying at that angle.

Zoro's phone ringing cut them short.

The other man pulled away and fished out his phone, "It's Franky, I've gotta take it- he and Robin are babysitting Tony."

He answered and Sanji saw Zoro's face instantly change from a picture of arousal to outright horror, "What?!… Okay. I'm on my way. Okay. Bye." He ended the call, "Sanji, I- I gotta go."

"What's wrong?" Sanji asked, slightly reluctant having to get off Zoro's lap, but he could see this was serious from the look on the other man's face, "What happened?"

"It's Tony," Zoro said, "He's had to go to the hospital."


	17. Hospital

As neither Franky or Robin could leave the hospital and Zoro and Sanji were too over the limit to drive there, the teacher had immediately called for a taxi and he'd shown Zoro out through the back door at the back of the kitchen. He'd planned to leave Zoro at the taxi but somehow, and he really wasn't quite sure how, he'd ended up in the back of the vehicle too and now they were both driving off to the hospital where Tony was. Zoro tried calling Franky but both times it rang out to voicemail and he eventually relented with a growl and a slam of his finger on the lock button at the top but he kept checking every minute for a message.

There was a tense atmosphere in the back of the taxi and neither man could talk though Zoro was bouncing his leg anxiously and the fingers of his free hand were clutched into the plush of his seat. Sanji couldn't offer anything that would help and he didn't want to annoy Zoro or, even worse, worry him more by saying the wrong thing unintentionally. He turned his head and looked at his feet on the floor, he hoped Tony was okay and that whatever had happened wasn't bad.

When they pulled up Sanji insisted quite firmly that he would pay the driver and Zoro should go to his son. Zoro gave him a look of immeasurable gratitude and took off like a man on a mission, nodding when Sanji called after him saying he would be in the waiting room if he needed anything. After paying the driver, he set off in search of the A&E waiting room a nauseating feeling of worry in his stomach for both Tony and Zoro.

If Robin hadn't been waiting outside one of the cubicles to grab him, Zoro would have run straight past where his friends and, more importantly, his son were. He went to push the curtain aside and go in but Robin blocked his path and shushed him before he could voice a complaint.

"I want to tell you what happened and catch you up on everything before you go in, okay?" She said, "Tony tripped and fell down the stairs. He's hit his head pretty hard, but he was carrying something- I think it was the glass cup you had in the bathroom- and he must have filled it with water for something without asking us and when he fell… well…" She looked him in the eyes, "It smashed and he cut his cheek and his hand on it. It won't scar, but I wanted to tell you before you saw."

Zoro nodded, his heart clenching at the news of his son's accident, "Thanks, Robin."

"Franky's in there with him now, but you can go in. I'll be in the waiting room."

Zoro didn't need any more prompting and went in and his heart almost shattered at the sight of his son. Tony was sat on the examination bed, clinging onto Franky's arm and sniffling every so often, and when he saw his father he immediately let go and held out his little arms in front of him with a cry, "Dad!"

Zoro swooped in and picked him up instinctively, holding him close as Tony wrapped his arms and legs around his waist and chest and began to cry. Zoro had one arm under his little hips and the other hooked around his back where his hand reached up to stroke soothingly at his son's curly head of hair, murmuring sweet reassurances in his ear.

"It's okay, Tony." Zoro soothed, beginning to feel a damp patch form from the hot tears, "It's okay. I'm here. Dad's here." He looked up with sigh of relief, "You're alright, you're alright…"

He managed to coax Tony to look up at him, but his son wouldn't let Zoro put him down so he had to sit onto the bed next to Franky where he took a good look at the bandage taped to Tony's cheek. The skin underneath was hot and probably sore and the bandage itself was waterproof which was lucky because of Tony's crying. He felt the coarseness of the gauze on his son's hand and looked down at his son's face- thank God he was okay. Tony sniffled and pressed his face back into the crook of his father's neck and Zoro pressed a gentle kiss on top of his head.

"It's okay, Tony, I'm here."

Sanji was practically biting his nails off as he sat in the overly comfortable waiting room chair. He was itching for a smoke and he'd learnt now that it was useless going to the desk to ask for any news. He was checking his phone for any sort of message from Zoro a woman sat down next to him.

"You must be Sanji."

Sanji looked to see one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. Her black hair was pulled back off her stunning face with its pale blue eyes. She looked to be of Asian ethnicity and she smiled at him softly, "Zoro's told me so much about you. I'm Robin."

Sanji returned his name and instantly asked the question he'd been dying to get the answer to, "How's Tony? Is he okay? Is Zoro okay?"

"They're fine," She said and was quiet a moment whilst Sanji let out a sigh of relief, finally releasing his worries that something truly awful had happened to Tony. Robin hummed, "You stayed around this long?" She asked, sounding slightly surprised.

"Yeah. I was worried about Tony," Sanji said, and he genuinely meant it. This wasn't just some ploy to act like he was caring just to get Zoro to like him more. No, he cared about Tony and he cared about Zoro- he didn't want to see anything bad happen to either of them.

"The doctor said he'll be okay." She affirmed and then smiled, as if she knew something he didn't and he had yet to find out, "I see why he likes you." She said.

Sanji blinked, "Huh?"

Robin smoothed it over as if she had said nothing, "Let's get them some tea and coffee. I'm sure they'll appreciate it."

Sanji nodded and followed alongside her but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was watching and calculating every move he made with her beautiful pale blue eyes.


	18. 3am

Tony had finally cried himself into a state of exhaustion but still was not tired enough to not get into his father's bed. He'd eventually fallen asleep to Zoro's shushes and stroking of his son's hair but he wriggled too much in his sleep and the bed was far too hot to be comfortable now and Zoro was at the end of his tether because it was three in the goddamn morning and he still hadn't caught a wink of sleep. Not that it mattered, Tony wasn't going in for the last day of school that morning on account of his injuries and Zoro had planned for them to sit at home and finally decorate the tree in the living room. But still, Zoro was completely and utterly knackered.

He hadn't the time to text Sanji between getting Tony dressed in his pyjamas and getting ready for bed himself and he couldn't exactly text at this time. The teacher had had to leave the hospital by himself a little early lest he be late for his last day of teaching before the half term break for two weeks, but Zoro had seen that he'd left reluctantly and that surprised him- Sanji had been genuinely concerned for Tony. The more time they'd spent together, the more obvious it was that Sanji was different from other men who'd been interested before. Sanji didn't see Tony as 'extra baggage' or a reason to label Zoro as something he'd rather not get involved in; he was loving and caring and his heart seemed to stretch out to encompass anyone who needed it. Zoro felt like he must have dreamt Sanji up but after last night's activities on the sofa- how close and how intimate they'd been- he couldn't doubt the teacher's existence now.

One thing troubled him at the back of his mind though. What had Robin been talking to Sanji about?

Robin, though a good friend, was a devious person by nature and she could weasel information out of someone very easily, no matter how personal the secret. In the past, Robin had helped Zoro avoid a few potentially nasty relationships by relaying the information that they were not keen on having Tony around to him after she had subtly interrogated them. But she'd yet to tell him anything worrying about Sanji so Zoro could put his mind at rest knowing that she couldn't have found anything bad on him- she usually sent a message within an hour of her findings.

After finding a more comfortable position and relenting all of the duvet to his snoring son, Zoro was beginning to doze off; his eyelids heavy and his limbs weighted to the soft mattress. He closed his eyes and yawned deeply when his phone buzzing on the bedside cabinet jerked him into wakefulness and he snatched the offending object up to glare at the screen.

Luffy.

He answered, knowing that if he didn't then Luffy would keep calling until he did. He tried to snap at him but it didn't really work with his sleepy voice, "What, Luffy? It's three in the damn morning…"

"I know!" Came the reply, far too bright and bubbly for three in the freaking morning and the sound of it made Zoro want to punch his best friend in the face really, really hard. "But I wanted to know if you are still coming to the Christmas party! You didn't reply to the invite."

"Shit, I forgot…" Zoro groaned, lowering his voice to a whisper when Tony stirred slightly, "Yes, me and Tony are still coming."

"Great! I'll see you there! Also did you that if you-"

"Luffy!" Zoro hissed, "It's three in the fucking morning, can you tell me this later?"

"Whoops! I forgot!" Luffy laughed, "Okay, I'll see you later! Goodnight, Zoro!"

"Goodnight, Luffy."

He ended the call and put the phone back on the side and no sooner had it left his fingers than Luffy started to call again. Zoro turned the phone off. No. No more phone calls. He was so fucking tired right now that he was liable to drive over and beat Luffy with his own mobile if he had to answer another call at three in the morning!

He wrapped his arms under the pillow and buried his face in the soft plush of it. He was absolutely shattered and he had a Christmas tree to decorate with an excitable eight year old later that morning.

He needed all the sleep he could get.


	19. Christmas plans

Zoro had just managed to untangle Tony from the last of the tinsel when Sanji rang. His son had been helping to decorate the tree before being distracted by all the colourful decorations and had somehow, and only God knew how, had managed to tangle himself up in a long strand of silver tinsel. It had took Zoro five minutes to get him out of it and now his son had gone to hang the last of the ornaments on the tree under his father's supervision. Zoro sighed, he'd been busy all day what with changing Tony's dressings, getting the decorations out of the attic, and making sure Luffy had enough stuff for the Christmas party over the phone. It was now five in the evening and Zoro remembered that Sanji had got off work two hours ago. He thumbed the accept call button and put his mobile to his ear,

"Hello?"

"Hi, mosshead." Sanji said, voice a little husky. The teacher had taken to calling him that nickname recently over texts and calls and Zoro would be lying if he said he minded- it meant Sanji was paying attention to him after all. And besides, he had his own name to say back.

"Curlybrow."

He swore he could hear Sanji smile, "How's Tony?"

Zoro felt something indescribably warm nestle in his chest at being reminded that Sanji actually cared about the both of them. He looked to his son who was singing a tuneless rendition of 'I wish it could be Christmas every day' whilst he hooked the baubles onto the lower branches, "He's good. He's decorating the tree."

Sanji hummed, "That's nice, good he's okay. Oh, hey, I wanted to ask you…"

The teacher trailed off and Zoro frowned, "Ask me what?"

"Well, I'm… going to a party on the twenty third and I just wondered if, you know, you wanted to come with me?"

Zoro almost accepted the invite but then remembered that the twenty third was Luffy's party and he already said he was going- there was no way to back out of that. But when he spoke to Sanji he felt genuinely disappointed in himself for not being able to go, "I can't… I'm already going to a party and I said I'd be there."

"Oh, that's okay." Sanji replied but Zoro could hear the slight note of disappointment in his voice. Sanji covered that note up quickly, "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd be up for New Year's Eve? Just a couple of drinks?"

"Yeah," Zoro said, "That sounds great."

"Okay, I'll see you then. Merry Christmas, mosshead."

Zoro, suddenly inspired by a random thought managed to catch Sanji before he hung up, "Hey, if you're not busy or have plans, do you want to spend Christmas Day with us? It's up to you but… yeah."

Sanji was quite a moment, like a surprised silence, but he caught himself, "Yeah, sure, I'd love to. My old man's running the restaurant over Christmas so I haven't got any plans. I can cook! If you want me to, that is…"

"It'd be great if you could cook, me and Tony never have a proper Christmas dinner." Zoro smiled, both at the teacher's enthusiasm and the fact that he and Tony ordered a lot of pizza from Dominos on Christmas Day as both a treat and to compensate for the fact that Zoro couldn't really cook.

"Great! Well, I've gotta go- got some serious marking to start."

"Nice, have fun with that," Zoro said, grateful he hadn't got to work until January.

"Oh boy, I will." Sanji said, sarcasm drawling off his voice, "Merry Christmas, mosshead."

"Merry Christmas, curlybrow." Zoro retorted.

He couldn't stop the smile that pulled at his lips as he hit 'end call'.


	20. Party prep

He'd been disappointed Zoro hadn't been able to come to the party but, in all honesty, Sanji had anticipated being turned down for it. Perhaps he was spending too much time with Zoro? They'd already been on two days and text and called each other frequently, maybe Zoro was free but just wanted some space… No. Zoro wouldn't do that to him, right? He may not know him entirely all that well but Sanji could make an assumption that Zoro was a very forward kind of guy; if he thought Sanji was suffocating him then he'd let him know.

Still, it would have been nice to have had a plus one for tonight; he didn't fancy being alone for Christmas for the second year in a row. But he'd dressed up smart casual with a button up blue shirt and black denim jeans finished with a belt chain and a pair of black Converse hi-tops. He shouldered on a black waistcoat, the one with the black silk lining he was fond of, and swept his fringe neatly over his right eye as he usually did.

Enjoying the refreshing feeling of being in clean clothes after a hot shower and a clean shave to neaten his goatee, he grabbed his messenger bag with the presents, all neatly wrapped, for his friends- it was Luffy's party after all and they had decided to exchange their gifts to one another whilst they were there. He'd catered for the party himself and left the buffet food at Luffy's and Ace's place but whether it had survived or not was yet to be known… He hoped Luffy had heeded his warning that he'd end up with a severe kicking if he'd touched so much as a single piece of food.

He looked at his watch, he'd better get leaving if he wanted the chance to uncover all the food he'd prepared. He sent a message to Zoro's phone before grabbing all his stuff and leaving.

'Merry Christmas x'


	21. Chopper killed the teacher

"Tony, watch where you're running; you'll run into the table if you don't." Nami said, putting her hand out to slow the overexcited child down. The party was in full swing and Tony had stuffed himself with so many sweets and fizzy drinks that Zoro was surprised he wasn't climbing the walls.

"Tony, calm down a little, okay?" He said firmly.

"Sorry dad." His son replied but soon forgot as he sped off after Luffy who'd just bolted past to get in the kitchen.

The kitchen was crammed with guests and Zoro hadn't been able to get in personally, rather having to wait for drinks and food to make its way to him. The food was delicious and when he'd asked where Luffy had got it, he'd simply replied that a friend was making the food before bolting off again.

"Tony's face and hand are healing well," Nami said, having watched Zoro change the bandages when Tony had spilt lemonade all over himself.

"Yeah, he keeps trying to scratch them though now that they're healing." He took a swig of cola, not liking to drink alcohol when his son was with him.

"How's the teacher guy coming along?"

Zoro shrugged, "Steady. He's actually really nice- he wasn't upset about our date being cut off early last week; he was more concerned about Tony. He's really sweet, even if he is smart mouthed sometimes."

Nami smiled, "That's great, Zoro. It's nice to see you happy with someone again. When are you going to introduce him then?"

"What are you? My mother?"

"Someone has to be." She said cheekily.

"Shut up."

"You haven't even told me his name!"

"Why do you need to know? Ow!" Zoro snapped, pulling his arm away as Nami pinched him harshly.

"Tell me, or I raise your debt!"

"Fine!" Zoro relented, narrowly dodging her sharp fingers. "Sanji! His name's Sanji."

Nami stopped immediately and look shocked, "Sanji? You don't mean Sanji Black, right?"

"Yeah. Wait. How do you know his-"

"I've known him for years! Zoro, why didn't you tell me sooner!" She cut him off.

"What?! You know him?"

"Yeah, Luffy does too. I think he's here actually- Luffy said he was working in the kitchen…"

It all clicked into place. This was why Sanji couldn't be with him tonight, but Zoro had had no idea that Sanji was at Luffy's party. How small was the world?!

As though on cue, Sanji bustled his way out of the crowded kitchen with a glass of wine in hand that looked very well deserved from the expression on his face, he smiled, "Nami, my sweet, it's so nice to see you again I- mosshead?"

"Sanji?" Zoro asked, still in disbelief.

"What're you doing here? I thought you were…"

Zoro laughed, "Apparently we both knew the same people, just not each other."

"How are you? How's Tony?"

Like a terror loose from hell, Tony and Luffy came bounding out of the kitchen and Zoro watched with barely any time to register what was happening as Sanji was sent flying off his feet and into his back, smacking his head off the floor, and Luffy and Tony landing on top of him in a heap. Nami and Zoro moved as one to get the pair off him but Sanji wasn't about to get up any time soon- he was knocked out stone cold.

Tony started crying, "I killed my teacher!"


	22. Argument

Zoro had hauled the unconscious teacher up into his arms and had been surprised by the fact that Sanji did apparently have some weight to him though he appeared to be pretty slim. Nami instructed him to put the teacher on one of the beds upstairs and Luffy had offered his before shushing Tony and trying to get him to calm down a little. Thus began Zoro's ascent up the stairs which wasn't that difficult- he'd trained with heavier weights than the teacher- and set Sanji down on Luffy's mess of a bed (only getting lost once on the way there). Nami had checked the back of Sanji's head already so Zoro didn't have to concern himself with looking for bleeding, but he felt he should be doing something.

His paternal instinct was tugging him towards Tony who was probably still crying his eyes out downstairs but Zoro tried to consol it by constantly reminding himself that Luffy and Nami were looking after him so his son was okay. Besides, he had Sanji that he needed to take care of right now. How long was it a person had to be unconscious for before you needed to call an ambulance? Shit, shit, shit.

"My head… shit…"

Sanji suddenly moved his arm and it took Zoro a moment to realise that it was because Sanji had regained consiousness. The teacher rubbed at his face and made a little attempt at sitting up but Zoro pushed him back down with his hand so he was laid back down on one of Luffy's creased t-shirts.

"You shouldn't get up so fast." He warned.

Sanji brushed him off and sat up regardless, "I'm fine." He took a breath, his face blanched, and he lay down once more, "No, I'm not." He groaned, "Ugh, my head."

"Yeah, you kind of smacked it pretty hard when you fell…"

"No shit, Sherlock," Sanji huffed with a small chuckle and closed his eyes tight, "My head's spinning."

Zoro asked him some easy questions until Sanji got annoyed with being asked so much and could sit up without the whole room becoming a carousel ride. He complained of feeling a little woozy and nauseous but they both reckoned that feeling would pass. They both stayed in the room together a while longer and Zoro sat down on the side of the bed whilst they waited to see if Sanji would perk up any.

"So, you know Luffy?" Zoro asked.

"Unfortunately," Sanji laughed softly, "We've been friends a couple of years now."

"So how many of them do you know?"

"Luffy, Nami, Ace, Marco, Usopp, and Perona. You know, they always mentioned about another guy but I never cottoned on that it was you."

Zoro shrugged, "They always mentioned about knowing a cook but I never thought it was you- I only knew you were a teacher."

"Yeah. Well, now you know." Sanji's tone of voice changed and Zoro frowned as he turned his head to look at him. Sanji looked worried and shut off and his knees were drawn in to his chest.

"So how long have you been cooking for?" Zoro asked.

"A while. I told you I wanted to be one, you know, professionally." Was Sanji's answer. He sighed heavily, "But that doesn't matter much."

"What happened?" Zoro pressed. He didn't want to pry into Sanji's life but the teacher really hadn't told him much about himself though Zoro had told him things about his own. The reaction he provoked from the other man wasn't one Zoro had been expecting.

"I said it doesn't matter, okay?" Sanji snapped, his words harsh and sharp, "It's personal."

Zoro immediately wanted to drop the subject, "Okay, you don't have to tell me- I was just asking."

"Well don't ask about it again." Sanji snipped back and something in the tone of his voice brushed Zoro up the wrong way entirely.

Zoro lashed out before he thought, "Well, I don't really know all that much about you so I'm so sorry for asking."

"What are you even talking about?"

"You've barely told me anything about yourself but you can just expect and get my story from a few kisses... I- You really think that's fair? You are a nice guy, Sanji, but this," He gestured between them, "isn't going to work out if you don't tell me stuff about you. What kind of relationship is based off not knowing anything about the person you're with?"

"Well maybe there's just some stuff that's a bit too personal to tell you yet." Sanji bit.

"You've got to give me something," Zoro said. He didn't much like the sudden tension between them. Was this it- their first argument?

Sanji got to his feet suddenly, a little shaky but quick to regain his balance, "I don't feel good, I'm going home," He said simply.

And he left, and Zoro didn't follow. He just sat and listened as he heard Sanji now downstairs asking someone for a lift home. He'd screwed up. He'd really screwed up.


	23. Aftermath

Zeff had dropped off his Christmas present to Sanji just over an hour in the brief break he'd managed to get from running the restaurant but as soon as he'd left, Sanji was all alone again feeling even more shittier than he had previously. Nami had sent him a text asking why he'd left so suddenly from the party last night and if he was feeling any better after hitting his head. He hadn't wanted to answer it but because it was Nami who'd text him, he felt terrible for ignoring her. He assured her he was fine; that he'd just felt a little dizzy and thought resting would be better. A few minutes later and his phone dinged again as she replied, informing him that Zoro had left shortly after and she was worried something had happened. Sanji had to physically bite his lip to stop himself from telling her the truth- he didn't want sweet, beautiful Nami to worry any more.

This was no different to other Christmas Eves he'd had since he went to university. In fact, he was rather used to being alone over the Christmas period. But the bitter presence of the argument with Zoro last night hung around him and fell on his shoulders like an extra weight. He hadn't heard anything from the marimo since last night- not even to confirm if Sanji was still to come over for Christmas- and he didn't want to think that he'd lost Zoro over something as pathetic as what he snapped at him for.

Okay, yes, at the time he'd been angry because it was the rational thing to have been in the heat of the moment; that conversation was a little too personal. But he realised now that he'd overreacted. Zoro had made a fair point; Sanji had barely told him anything about himself. He turned his head from where he lay on his back on the sofa and looked at the snow falling down outside. He wanted to try and make things right, and if Zoro wanted to continue the relationship then that would be more than what Sanji felt he himself deserved.

But how?

He wouldn't text or call, that seemed too detatched and he wanted to show some sincerity about this…

He'd got it.

Getting up, Sanji checked the intensity of the snowfall outside- it didn't look too bad- and picked up his apartment keys from the coffee table. He had to go to Zoro himself.


	24. Idiot

Tony had been a struggle for the whole day and especially to put to bed, so excited was he for Santa Claus to come, that it was a relief to finally be able to sit down and have a quiet moment. But no sooner had Zoro slumped onto the sofa then the doorbell suddenly rang and he let out a growl of frustration. It wasn't like he was expecting anyone since that argument with Sanji had clearly cancelled any plans they'd had for Christmas Day. Maybe whatever god up there just really hated him.

The doorbell rang again, compelling him into action and he called out as he forced himself to walk into the hallway, "Alright, alright, I'm coming!"

He pawed in the bowl on the table next to the door for the keys and flicked through them. The stranger stood at the door was fairly tall and smudged through the warped glazed glass and Zoro wondered how cold they must be out there in the snowy night. He unlocked the door and pulled it open, "Hello?"

"Hi," Sanji said from the doorstep, breathless and flustered.

Zoro blinked. The teacher looked awfully chilly, his pale skin bitten red on his nose, chin, and cheeks and the soft pink of his lips starting to gain a light blue tint. His blond hair was damp and matted to his head, soaked by the snow, and he had an intermittent tremble that he seemed to be trying to pass of as nothing. Zoro was so surprised by Sanji's appearance that he cursed when he realised his ignorance, "Shit! Sanji, get in, you must be freezing."

Sanji took the offer gratefully and Zoro shut the door after him, noticing Sanji's canvas trainers, completely soaked by the snowy ground- the teacher clearly hadn't come prepared at all for the weather. He went to ask the reason to the teacher's sudden appearance when Sanji rubbed the tip of his cold nose with an equally cold looking hand, "I wanted to apologise, to sort this out."

"Did you walk here?!" Zoro exclaimed, taking note of the bottom of Sanji's jeans, completely soaked through.

"Yeah, but that's not the-"

"Why the hell did you walk here?! I thought you had a car?"

"Yeah but the windscreen was taking too long to defrost so-"

"You walked all the way through the snow just to apologise?" Zoro remarked, completely flabbergasted, "You're a moron, you know that?"

"Look are you just going to talk to me like your my mother or are you going to let me fix this, idiot?" Sanji snapped, "Because I-"

He was cut short as Zoro placed his hand on his shoulder with a disbelieving smile, "I forgive you."

Sanji faltered at the suddenness of acceptance, "Are you sure? Because I had a whole speech prepared and everything…"

Zoro laughed, "You really are a moron," he motioned for Sanji to follow, "Come on, you look like you're about to freeze to death."

Sanji couldn't refuse that, his fingers and toes so cold he could barely feel them.


	25. Heat

Sanji now found himself in Zoro's very warm, very comfortable home and was slowly beginning to heat up by the electric fire in the living room whilst his clothes, soaked through by the snow, dried out on the radiator. Zoro had given him some fresh clothes, a top and a pair of sweats that were one or two sizes too big, and a blanket to wrap himself up in. The mossy man came and sat down beside him.

"You warming up yet?" Zoro asked, voice low and soft so as not to disturb Tony, Sanji presumed, but he liked to pretend the man was talking like that for another reason. He nodded and said, as equally as soft,

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're a moron, you know that? You didn't have to walk all the way through the snow to tell me you were sorry."

"I know. I guess I am an idiot, huh?"

Zoro looked at him with his dark eyes, flecked with the reflections of light from the fire, and Sanji really saw him for once. He could follow the curve of his cheekbones, could see the two faint scars on his chin and the one up by his hairline. His skin had a healthy, rich hue to it and Sanji could see the slight lines on his forehead from frowning, and the creases at the corners of his almond shaped eyes from those rare smiles. There was a slight pull on Zoro's lips, a sort of half-there smile, and right by the left corner of his mouth was the softest of dimples… how had he never noticed that before?

"I guess you are." He said, and Sanji would've described his tone as coy if he didn't know the man.

And that was all it took.

Sanji kissed him, chaste at first but ever the more firmly when he felt Zoro's mouth relaxing after seizing up in surprise, and it felt… it felt right. He was so sure that this was the most right thing he'd ever done in his life and he could feel his heartbeat thrumming against his chest like a caged bird that wanted to be set free and his pulse fluttered uncontrollably in his neck, his arteries practically vibrating.

And Zoro didn't pull away and Sanji's chest could've sung for joy when he felt Zoro's hands touching him, warm skin, even warmer than the fire, cupping the right side of his neck and the top of his left arm. He brought his hands up under Zoro's chin, his thumbs placed either side of his jaw, and just held there. Because this was perfect. He didn't know why but it just was.

The warmth on his lips was suddenly gone and his eyes snapped open, surprised to find himself looking up with Zoro looking down at him. He didn't remember Zoro moving over him but he didn't even care. Zoro looked serious, despite the obvious haze of lust in his eyes, "Are you sure you want this?"

Sanji's stomach clenched at what was being offered to him and a swirl of arousal flooded between his thighs. It took him a moment to get through the haze of sex induced thoughts racing through his elated mind before he could give his answer, "Yes, of course I do…" He didn't particularly like the way his voice wavered with breathlessness and he forced himself to add a, "Dumbass," in order to regain control again.

Zoro smiled and there was that dimple again, soft and subtle, but there and beautiful, and he leaned down to place a kiss on Sanji's throat, his lips no doubt feeling out the erratic pulse there, "Bedroom," He managed, placing another kiss there again afterwards.

Sanji had never been more eager to get to a room in his life.


	26. Finally

Getting to the bedroom had been a bit of a stumble, hands clumsy and neither of them willing to let the other go for even one second, as though they might disappear. Sanji's heart was beating hard and fast and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears and feel it moving down to that certain other place too. He'd just about succeeded in taking his own top off when Zoro no longer had his fingers hooked in it and it had been left somewhere at the bedroom door which Zoro had had to quietly shut lest they woke up Tony down the hall. Sanji was kissing the man's lips with fervour and a slight hint of desperation when Zoro broke away, panting slightly, "We've got to be quiet, Tony's sleeping."

Sanji agreed with a nod, breathless, and Zoro took the opportunity to inch them closer to the bed until he'd toppled Sanji back onto the mattress and bracketed him in, the mattress edge pressing into the small of Sanji's back and his legs bent so his feet were still touching the carpeted floor.

What happened next was a euphoric blur.

Zoro's lips and hands were everywhere, leaving a hot trail along his skin, burning like fire. He kissed where Sanji's breastbone lay softly, tenderly and Sanji vaguely recalled through the haziness Zoro telling him that he'd never done this before and then the rest was passed on to him. Sanji flipped them over, let Zoro scoot onto the bed better and climbed over him with the intent to make this a good first time for Zoro at the forefront of his mind.

Zoro looked nervous but excited, a strange mix to see on his handsome face, and Sanji spoke him through his actions as he popped the button on Zoro's jeans with deft fingers and slipped down the zipper. Zoro was breathing heavily and Sanji was fairing no better as he slipped his hand down into Zoro's boxers.

The green haired man hissed through his teeth under him and huffed a quick laugh, "Your hands are fucking freezing…"

Sanji smirked, "Sorry about that," and sought out taking Zoro's erection into his hand, curling his cool fingers around the hot flesh and pulling down Zoro's jeans and boxers slightly to free it from its confines. Zoro had to muffle a moan with the back of his hand and, as much as Sanji wanted to hear it properly, he knew he couldn't risk waking up Tony. Sanji ran his thumb up the underside of Zoro's arousal and took great delight in watching the man under him flush bright red and tilt his head back with his eyes screwed shut to pant heavily, "Fuck…" He whispered and Sanji leaned down to lick at the now exposed neck, tasting the salt of Zoro's sweat.

Zoro was a very impressive size and girth, Sanji would give him that, and the way Zoro was reacting to every touch was the most arousing thing he'd ever seen. A sudden pang of pleasure had him by surprise and he moaned freely before he could stop himself, looking down to see Zoro's hand now wrapped around his own erection, the pad of his thumb pressing into the tip on just the right side of pain. Zoro was looking at him now with something akin to a challenge in his eyes and Sanji would be damned before he ever backed down and he tightened his grip slightly on Zoro, pumping him with agonisingly slow drags of his hand and rubbed his thumb around the tip in time, pleased to find some precum already there. This time Zoro had to bite his bottom lip to refrain from groaning and Sanji grinned at him before asking, "Do you have any lube?"

Zoro blinked, dazed, but managed to answer, "I… don't know. Bedside table?"

Sanji had to let go of him, much to Zoro's dismay, in order to reach his arm across, his mind a haze as Zoro refused to stop stroking him and Sanji's hips kept trying to buck into it. He fumbled a little as he pulled the drawer open and started searching, shaky fingers finally grasping around a small cylindrical bottle and he brought it and himself back over Zoro after reading that it was indeed lubricant.

"Shirt," Sanji gasped, pawing at the hem of Zoro's top and Zoro let him go to assist in pulling up the fabric over his own head.

Sanji was in heaven or perhaps he'll as he saw the expanse of muscle, the narrow cut hipbones, and the defined lines that lay underneath him, flushed and waiting in anticipation. His gaze fell on a long gnarled scar across Zoro's chest but Zoro beat Sanji to it, "That's… I'll tell you later."

Sanji, acknowledging that this perhaps really wasn't the time, nodded and pulled Zoro's jeans and boxers away completely, shimmying off his own as well. He looked down at Zoro's completely exposed body and snorted a laugh, "The carpet matches the drapes, huh? You really do have green hair…"

"Shut up." Zoro said, and Sanji delighted in the red blush that had blossomed over the man's cheeks and nose and shuffled up to kiss him on the mouth, Zoro reciprocating enthusiastically.

Sanji shook the bottle still in his hand and popped off the cap, breaking away to pant against Zoro's mouth, "This is gonna feel weird, okay?"

Zoro nodded and watched with interest and hazed lust as Sanji squirted some of the viscous contents onto his palm and smothered it along his fingers, sitting back between Zoro's thighs, "You're going to have to move your legs a little more."

Zoro looked slightly uncomfortable as he parted his legs wider and Sanji looked him dead in the eye, "If you want to stop we can. I don't mind-"

"No." Zoro said firmly, reiterating his point with a firm look, "I want you."

And damn if those weren't the words Sanji had heard often in his dreams. He placed his lubricated hand between Zoro's legs and pushed in one finger, capturing Zoro's noise swiftly with his own mouth in a kiss. He gave Zoro a moment to calm down and adjust and soon enough he was three fingers in, stretching and prepping and kissing Zoro whenever the man got too loud.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck…" Zoro panted in a voice so deliciously keen that it made Sanji even more aroused if such a thing was possible. Zoro was bucking down now, trying to get all he could from Sanji's hand and the blond knew that he was ready. He withdrew his hand, Zoro making a disappointed sound in his throat as Sanji lined himself up. He spoke, "This might feel really weird," he warned and Zoro simply looked at him as he panted in response.

Sanji's heart was beating hard, this was finally happening. He pushed in.

Zoro made no real noise as such but Sanji wouldn't have noticed if he had, his mind completely consumed by the overwhelming pressure and heat. He vaguely felt Zoro's hand take his own through his numbed mind and was eventually brought back by Zoro moaning, almost whining in his ear, "Fucking move."

Sanji practically leapt into action, each thrust of his hips unravelling them both towards completion. Zoro had his hand over his mouth to stifle the noises which was quickly replaced by Sanji's mouth which proved to be more effective. Their fingers tangled, Sanji's left hand in Zoro's right as Sanji's free hand, still slightly slicked with lube, rubbed Zoro into completion.

They came almost together, Zoro first and Sanji just after, and Sanji kissed the other wherever he could until Zoro came down from his euphoric high. Sanji pressed his body down against Zoro's and rubbed his thumb in small circles against the man's hand not pulling out just yet. He pressed his lips to Zoro's and they kissed lazily for a while, tongues sliding against one another languidly. Zoro's eyelids were beginning to droop and Sanji pulled away with a smile.

"Merry Christmas, Zoro."


	27. Christmas morning

I'm sorry for my lack of updates lately and I'm so happy that there was so much happiness from you all when you learned that I was continuing this ficlet. I want to say thank you to all of you for sticking with this so far and I hope you enjoy this update which has been long overdue.

This is part one of an update for the lovely newneon~

Waking up and not finding Sanji beside him sent a chill to Zoro's stomach which was sated by the comforting smell of pancakes in the kitchen along with the muffled high and lower pitched sounds which he knew belonged to his son and his... his boyfriend? He wasn't sure what Sanji was but boyfriend sounded great to Zoro right now as he gazed up at the white painted ceiling with the pleasant ache of last night in his lower back and thighs, and the sweet smell of breakfast in the air.

He could make out Sanji listing ingredients and measurements, and the occasional, "That's great, Tony!" and the sound of him praising his son sent a happiness like no other thrumming through Zoro's blood. It was cheesy maybe, but it was perfect. Zoro had found the perfect match, someone who wasn't intimidated by the fact that he was a single father and got along fantastically with his son. Someone he cared for and who cared for him too. He couldn't have asked for anything more.

The cool air that chilled the foot that had been left out of the covers reminded him of the season and that this was Christmas morning. He sat up immediately and got out of bed, stretching in a way that made the muscles in his lower back ache just right and he exhaled heavily before seeking out some boxers, pyjama bottoms, and his dressing gown to cover his naked body before leaving his bedroom and heading downstairs towards the kitchen.

He found Tony at the table, a glass mixing bowl on the surface with a pale mixture sloshing around inside as he whisked it vigorously, his chubby face smeared with lines of flour. He grinned when he saw Zoro and leapt from the table and into his father's arms with a cry of "Happy Christmas, dad!"

Zoro held him close and firm in the embrace, picking his son up with ease and simply marvelling at how happy Tony was. This was the happiest he'd been at Christmas since his father and mother split up and it brought an uplift to Zoro's heart to see his son so happy. Tony clung fiercly to him so Zoro didn't put him down and instead moved over to Sanji with Tony on his hip. Sanji stood at the stove with a pancake frying in the pan which he deposited on a plate to the right of him.

"Good morning, blondie." He said.

Sanji turned round, surprised by the sudden intrusion but smiled when he saw who it was, "Good morning, mosshead."

Zoro leaned in and kissed the other without any hesitation, the hazy thoughts of last night's events sending a warm buzz through his blood as he did so. Sanji reciprocated happily and they shared a brief but meaningful kiss which was finished by Tony staring at them when they parted. Zoro went to explain to his son when Tony whispered in awe, still looking up at them, "My Christmas wish came true..."

Sanji blinked and then laughed as Zoro mussed Tony's curly hair fondly, Zoro smiling at him, "I guess so, Tony."


	28. A gift

The second part of the update for the lovely NewNeon~

There was a slight chill in the air as Zoro stood outside the bookstore looking in through the display window. It was January now and the winter had not quite left just yet, lingering in harsh frosts and frigid breezes, and he drew the collar of his coat a little further up his neck to fend off the cold.

It was close coming up to a month since he and Sanji had officially become a thing and already their lives were becoming more closely knit. Zoro's ex-wife had called a few times since, apologising when she recognised that he was giving her the cold shoulder after her no show at Christmas. But she expressed her joy at having heard about Sanji and was glad that Zoro had someone. Zoro was pleased with her reaction not that he'd care if she'd been the opposite about it.

Tony was doing well with his new, more advanced, lessons and Zoro was certain that his son had become even smarter than his dad. He couldn't have been more proud.

Zoro's eyes and attention wandered back to the cookbook he'd been admiring through the glass panels, and his thoughts turned to Sanji humming songs in his kitchen, the window open slightly for whenever he leaned out for a smoke break. Zoro had been spoilt food-wise since he'd let Sanji into his life, his palette had become far too accustomed to the comforting, rich taste of home cooking that had more skill and love put into it than he could ever imagine. That was why a cookbook would be perfect.

He hadn't bought Sanji anything for Christmas last month and, heck, it wasn't like he'd foreseen them getting back together after the argument at Luffy's, much less having bedded the man on Christmas Eve. But still, he felt bad for not having bought Sanji a gift.

He took out his wallet and thumbed through notes until he'd got the exact money in hand before entering the shop. He hoped that Sanji would like the book.


	29. Christmas blues

Sanji opened the door to the apartment above Zeff's restaurant The Baratie and entered, shucking off his coat and putting the packet of cigarettes in his hand into the pocket before hanging it up. He'd left Tony with his adoptive father whilst he went for a quick smoke and was dreading the consequences of his actions because this was the first time he'd ever left Tony alone with the old geezer. It wasn't that Sanji didn't trust his old man but Zeff was a little… strange in his upbringing of kids- Sanji still remembered the swift kicks to the head he got whenever he did something wrong.

He was sure Zeff wouldn't do something like that to Zoro's son but… the shitty old geezer was strange. Sanji coughed to clear his lungs out and kicked his shoes off by the doormat, "Oi, old man, what are you doing in there?"

He walked into the living room before Zeff could answer to find the most bizarre sight he'd ever seen. Zeff was… The shitty old geezer was…

Zeff was finger painting with Tony.

Sanji wanted to pinch himself hard because surely this must be a dream. Zeff. The grouchiest old man Sanji had ever known. Right in front of him. Finger painting. He blinked slowly as though he couldn't process just what he was seeing.

"And all the fish of the world gather there, all together. It's a chef's dream come true!" Zeff said, and Sanji watched as the old man drew out fish in different paints along the paper and he smiled.

The old man was telling Tony about the All Blue.

And there was something haunting but nostalgic about the way Tony was sat there, looking up at Zeff with huge eyes full of awe and wonder, drinking in every word this man said like it was water. Sanji saw himself there, remembered when it was his turn for Zeff to tell him about the All Blue, and recalled how it was him sat there in amazement as he was told a tale so impossible it couldn't be true but oh god how much had he wanted it to be real?

Sanji's smile gave way a little. He wasn't a child anymore and the All Blue wasn't real. It was a child's fantasy and nothing more no matter how incredible and wonderful it appeared to be. He ducked back out of the living room and into the hall. Dreams just didn't come true, no matter how much you believed in them.

His hands twitched and he bit his lip, itching for another smoke and he gave in, slipping his shoes and coat back on and letting himself back out, remembering all that time he'd spent… No. All that time he'd wasted on something that didn't come true. His dream was as dead as the one of All Blue.

He'd already shoved a cigarette to his lips and was lighting it before he'd even stepped out of the door.


End file.
